“We cannot allow Putin to steal Christmas from us.” The mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has not hidden his determination as the end of the year approaches and his country has been at war with Russia for nine months.
A conflict that mainly affects the east of the country but does not spare any Ukrainian as the holidays approach. “No one is going to cancel New Year and Christmas, and there should be a New Year atmosphere,” Kiev’s mayor told the Ukrainian news agency RBC, as reported by CNN.
Fir trees but no electric garlands in Kyiv
The councilor, who like all the other Ukrainian authorities fears new Russian attacks, at the same time confirmed that Christmas will be celebrated in the streets of his city. Thus, Christmas trees will be erected in the Ukrainian capital but without the slightest luminous garland. In the same way, the illuminations will not be present this year in kyiv due to the war.
The director of Yasno, Ukraine’s electricity company, has explained that the electricity grid is struggling to manage everyday life for Ukrainians after the latest attacks in Moscow. Several million Ukrainians have suffered power outages in recent weeks after several attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Also, no gatherings of any kind are allowed this year due to martial law, effective February 24.
Choice of Two Christmases
Christmas does not have the same meaning for everyone. Not the same date for that matter. Ukrainians also usually celebrate the birth of Jesus on January 7 according to the Gregorian calendar, the same as that of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In this very special year for the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has chosen to disassociate itself from that of Patriarch Kirill, who supported the Russian invasion. Therefore, it offers Ukrainians the possibility to celebrate Christmas on December 25 if they wish. A measure not so new as that.
“For some years now, Catholic Christmas has been added to Orthodox Christmas,” says Alexander Query, BFMTV correspondent in kyiv. A decision made within the framework of a “de-Russification policy in the years 2017-2018”.
In addition, New Year’s Eve also has its importance, since it is when gifts are given in Ukrainian homes. Jérôme Pellistrandi, BFMTV Defense Consultant, stresses the importance of the “family component” of this Christmas season “while hundreds of thousands of soldiers are on the front lines.”
From there to imagine a truce during this period? “It seems very, very long to wait for a truce from the night of December 24 to the morning of January 7,” Judge Patrick Sauce, BFMTV international politics columnist.
Source: BFM TV
