С Рождеством Христовым!

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine celebrates the birth of Christ today on January 7th.  In order to understand why, a little history is required.   Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union until 1991.  The Soviet Union had its roots in the Russian Revolution in 1917 which deposed Nicholas II. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin,  overthrew the Provisional Government, the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic was established and a civil war began. The Red Army entered several territories of the former Russian Empire and helped local communists seize power. In 1922, the Bolsheviks were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian and Byelorussian republics. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the celebration of Christmas was banned throughout the Soviet Union along with other religious celebrations. Many Christmas traditions, such as decorating a fir tree and giving presents, turned into New Year's traditions, which was allowed as a secular holiday.

In 1992, in conjunction with the fall of the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Church in Russia revived the Christmas holiday as an official one.  The Orthodox Church, which is the predominant church in Ukraine, still uses the old Julian calendar which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar used in the western nations.  Thus, Christmas in celebrated by the Orthodox Church on January 7th, rather than December 25th. (the Gregorian calendar is used secularly.) 

You can google Ukrainian Christmas traditions and see the many and varied ways our Ukrainian friends celebrate the coming of Christ.  In fact, their greeting, "С Рождеством Христовым!", literally means "with the nativity of Christ".  As I read on another blog: this grammatical form is used on many occasions but seems to me to work best for Christmas.  There is no real reason to celebrate this day were it not for the fact that Christ's nativity is "with" us now.  It is present among us despite the separation of 2000 years and many miles.  

So to all our Ukrainian friends, family, and supporters, С Рождеством Христовым! And may the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ be ever with us!