YORKTON - For years Ukrainian Christmas has been celebrated Jan. 7, for many in the Yorkton area.
The date marked Christmas according to the Julian calendar.
But, officially at least, that changed in December, explained Father Michael Faryna from the Holy Transfiguration Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Yorkton.
“Within Canada there have been discussions … within the churches the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for about 25 years, about adjusting it,” he said.
The adjustment long discussed was to align the Julian calendar date for Christmas to that of the Gregorian calendar, or Dec. 25.
It is a move made by some other churches such as the Greek Orthodox decades ago, noted Faryna.
Faryna said the difference in dates seems to have largely been a case of how leap years were dealt with and the math involved in that process in the earliest days of the two calendars.
In Ukraine discussions by the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic Churches led to a decision to adjust things to align religious dates such as Christmas with the Gregorian calendar starting in 2023, said Faryna, adding the government in Ukraine then aligned civic religious holidays with the change.
In Canada the discussion was of course re-ignited, said Faryna, adding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ultimately took the decision – after discussions with church members – to make the change too.
Faryna said in changing the celebrations to Dec. 25, it does allow families to gather more easily as it is a holiday, as opposed to Jan. 7, adding locally Christmas at the church was marked Dec. 25.
That all said, Faryna noted some families will still mark Jan. 7, as it has been a long time tradition, which is seen as a cultural thing for many as well as religious.
