December 2025 will be a month of great celebrations for Orthodox believers. According to the new calendar, which the Orthodox Church of Ukraine officially introduced in 2023, it is during this period that the Christmas Lent will end and the celebration of the Nativity of Christ will take place. In addition, the first half of the month falls on St. Nicholas Day, and after Christmas - the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The transition to the new Julian calendar means that all church holidays are celebrated 13 days earlier than in the Julian style. So, December events have shifted in accordance with the new church schedule. On December 6, believers will honor St. Nicholas, December 24 will end the Christmas fast, and December 25 will be Christmas, one of the most important holidays of the Christian year.
December is also full of memorial days of holy prophets, martyrs, and ascetics. Among them are the Prophet Nahum, the Venerable Sava the Sanctified, the Saint Spyridon of Trimyphus, the Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths, and the Righteous Ilya Muromets, whose relics rest in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The month concludes with the commemoration of Saint Peter Mohyla, an outstanding theologian and metropolitan of the 17th century.
Christmas Eve, December 24, traditionally marks the end of the Christmas Lent, which began in late November. It is a period of spiritual purification and preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ, which includes abstaining from fast food and increasing prayer.
At the same time, some Orthodox communities in Ukraine continue to celebrate church events according to the old style. They continue to adhere to the Julian calendar, according to which all dates are shifted 13 days forward. Thus, Christmas according to the old style will fall on January 7, 2026, and the December holidays will continue in the January cycle.
December 2025 will be the first winter month when most Orthodox Ukrainians will celebrate church events in the format established by the new calendar.
