Recently, the Orthodox and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches switched to the new Julian calendar, changing the dates of some holidays. Find out more about when Ukrainians celebrate St. Nicholas, Christmas and other important church holidays in December

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In September 2023, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church switched to the new Julian calendar. Along with this, the dates of some religious holidays have also changed. 

To ensure that you don't miss the important days of the month, we're going to tell you about the Church calendar for December.

Major church holidays in December 2023

In December, Ukrainians will celebrate three major church holidays, and all of them have moved in the calendar.

Thus, the first of the three will be St. Nicholas Day, which, according to the new calendar, will be celebrated 13 days earlier than usual - on December 6.

Next, Ukrainians will celebrate two holidays that used to be celebrated in January - Christmas on December 25 and Christmas Eve (Malanka) on December 31.

Full church calendar for December 2023

December will bring not only big holidays, so we advise you to familiarize yourself with the full calendar of church holidays next month:

December 1 - St. Nahum the Prophet;

December 2 - St. Habakkuk the Prophet;

December 3 - Saint Prophet Sophonius;

December 4 - the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, St. John Damascene;

December 5 - St. Sava the Blessed and God-bearer;

December 6 - St. Nicholas;

December 7 - St. Ambrose, Bishop of Mediolanus;

December 8 - St. Patapius;

December 9 - Conception of St. Anne;

December 10 - the holy martyrs Mina, Hermogenes and Eugraphus;

December 11 - Holy Martyrs Mina, Victor and Vincent. St. Theodore the Studite;

December 12 - St. Spyridon the Wonderworker;

December 13 - Holy Martyrs Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius, Orestes; Holy Martyr Virgin Lucia;

December 14 - the holy martyrs Tyrsus, Leucius, Philemon, Apollonius, Arians, and Kalenik;

December 15 - Holy Martyr Eleutherius; St. Paul; St. Stephen;

December 16 - the Holy Prophet Haggai;

December 17 - the Holy Prophet Daniel; the holy three wise men Ananias, Azarius and Misael;

December 18 - Holy Martyr Sebastian and those with him;

December 19 - Holy Martyr Boniface;

December 20 - Holy Martyr Ignatius the God-bearer;

December 21 - the holy martyr Juliana;

December 22 - Holy Great Martyr Anastasia;

December 23 - the Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete;

December 24 - Christmas Eve of the Holy Martyr Eugenia;

December 25 - the Nativity of Christ. Read more about where to go for Christmas in Ukraine in our article.

December 26 - Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos; Holy Martyr Eutymius;

December 27 - Holy Apostle, First Martyr and Deacon Stephen;

December 28 - Holy martyrs burned in Nicodemus;

December 29 - the Holy Newborns, killed for Christ in Bethlehem;

December 30 - the Holy Martyr Anisia;

December 31 - St. Melanka of Rome; Saints Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James, the Lord's brother in the flesh, and Generous Evening.

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Where to celebrate the New Year in Ukraine during the war?

For the second year in a row, Ukraine will celebrate the New Year's holidays in the midst of a full-scale war, and planning even a family evening in such circumstances is a challenge with an asterisk.

How and where you can celebrate the New Year in Ukraine now to give yourself and your family at least a few days of winter fairy tales and New Year's miracles, we tell you in this article.

Choosing a trip? Find more winter tours for every taste on Visit Ukraine. Follow the link and choose your perfect trip for the New Year holidays!

🖤 P.S Use the Black Friday promo code and get a discount!

We wish you wonderful holidays!

We remind you! Soon the world will celebrate Christmas and New Year, but for the second year in a row, Ukraine will be celebrating the holidays in war. Find out more about the plans to set up the main Christmas tree in Kyiv this year and whether there will be a New Year's celebration.

Want to know more? Read the latest news and useful materials about Ukraine and the world in the News section.

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