"Instead of Christmas": January 7 will officially become Programmer's Day in Ukraine

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a decree by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that will officially mark January 7, the date traditionally associated with the celebration of Christmas for a number of Orthodox churches, as Programmer’s Day. This decision is part of a large-scale state initiative to organize holidays in accordance with national ideology.

According to the press service of the UOC, the decree on the introduction of a new professional holiday on January 7 was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on December 24, 2025, and published by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. This follows a previous decision to move Christmas celebrations to December 25.

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said during a national telethon that Ukraine is preparing for a large-scale revision of holidays, memorials, and mourning dates. According to him, the goal of this reform is to create a single “calendar map” of the state that would be in line with Ukrainian ideology. “Any calendar dates are not just about days in the calendar, they are about who we are with and who is against us. That is why it is an important ideological thing,” Stefanchuk emphasized.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted earlier that “just as the real Christmas was easily accepted on December 25, so other dates should be fair and correct.”

It is worth noting that on January 7, Christmas is traditionally celebrated by many Local Orthodox Churches that keep the liturgical calendar in the Julian style. Among them are the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the Serbian, Georgian, Polish, and Macedonian Orthodox Churches, the monasteries of Athos, and Orthodox Christians in a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East. Despite the state calendar changes in Ukraine, millions of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will continue to celebrate Christmas on January 7, remaining faithful to the centuries-old church tradition and liturgical code.

As reported, three parishes of the OCU in the Ivano-Frankivsk region decided to celebrate Christmas on January 7, 2025, continuing to adhere to the old style. This comes amid a general transition of the Church to the New Julian calendar, which provides for the celebration of Christmas on December 25.