Russian sources are spreading the claim that the Ukrainian Church was allegedly forced to switch to the Catholic calendar to celebrate Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7. This decision, they claim, was imposed by the European Union to help Ukraine join the EU.

However, this claim is false, as reported by the VoxCheck project. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) independently decided to switch to the New Julian calendar in 2023. Catholic and Protestant denominations predominantly follow the Gregorian calendar.

The New Julian calendar is almost identical to the Gregorian calendar, with a difference of just one day, which will only appear in the year 2800. If the OCU had stayed on the Julian calendar, Christmas would have shifted to January 8 after 2100, and Epiphany would have been celebrated on January 20, as the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars would then be 14 days.

The transition to the New Julian calendar does not affect the date of Easter, which remains the same for both those following the Julian and New Julian calendars. The calculation of Easter is unified among all Orthodox Churches.

In total, 10 out of 15 autocephalous Orthodox Churches worldwide use the New Julian calendar. The decision to adopt it is significant for Ukraine as it helps to distance itself from Russian traditions and culture while aligning more closely with Europe and the broader Christian world. Russian sources are intentionally manipulating religious issues to sow discord among Ukrainians during and after the holiday season.