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Bangkok Post Group
  • 12/21/2023
Ukrainians are gearing up to celebrate their first Christmas according to a new calendar, another step towards erasing all traces of Russian influence as their military fends off a Kremlin invasion. - REUTERS
Transcript
00:00 Ukrainians are gearing up to celebrate their first Christmas away from the traditional
00:05 Russian Julian calendar.
00:07 The war-torn country is taking another step towards erasing all traces of Russian influence
00:13 while their military fends off a Kremlin invasion.
00:19 Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and the country's main church agreed this year
00:24 to ditch January 7 as the day of celebration, swapping it for December 25 instead, Archpriest
00:31 Mykhailo Emelian explains.
00:38 After February 24, 2022, when the Russian Federation launched the full-fledged invasion
00:43 of Ukraine, we had to defend ourselves from the aggressor.
00:51 Everything that was related to Russia and everything that Russia did the same way we
00:54 did provoked disgust among people.
00:59 The conflict also sparked many to reject the Russian language and culture of Kiev's former
01:04 ruler.
01:05 Near the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers were also preparing to make the celebratory switch.
01:12 Military chaplain Mykolai expects troops to be in high spirits.
01:18 For us Orthodox believers, it wasn't fully clear last year when to celebrate.
01:24 But this year, all denominations and the whole world will celebrate on December 25, and this
01:30 will unite us even more.
01:32 There will be no more divisions.
01:38 Ukraine has also signalled its interest in joining the European Union.
01:41 Many locals see membership as a crucial affirmation of what they believe is their country's historical
01:47 place in Europe.
01:48 Reuters spoke to residents on the streets of Kiev.
01:52 Yes, I will celebrate Christmas on December 25 for the first time this year together with
01:58 my family.
01:59 It is a little unusual, but I think it is the right thing to do, to switch to new traditions,
02:04 to restore historical memory.
02:09 It turned out that Ukrainians used to celebrate Christmas on December 25, like the rest of
02:14 the Europeans.
02:15 January 7 was imposed on us.
02:20 I do not exclude either date.
02:22 We must celebrate on both dates.
02:25 We all live together.
02:26 My neighbours celebrate on one day, I celebrate on another.
02:29 We will celebrate all together, meaning we will celebrate on both days.
02:35 Ukrainian authorities have also stepped up a campaign to rename streets and remove statues
02:40 and monuments tied to the country's Tsarist and Soviet past.
02:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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