Ukrainians officially celebrate Christmas twice: On 25 December when Catholics and Protestants have their festivities, and also on 7 January when Orthodox Christians rejoice.

When should you congratulate Ukrainian women with Christmas?

With the recent split between Ukraine and Russia in 2014, anything that unites Ukrainians with their eastern neighbour is reconsidered.

Since the Russian Orthodox Church is adamant about not switching to the worldwide recognized date system (read here about Gregorian vs. Julian calendar and what it’s all about), it can only be expected that Christmas dates will be officially switched to 25 December by the Ukrainian church. It has been recently granted an autonomy from the Russian Orthodox church, so we might see some further developments soon.

However, at the moment, both days — 7 January and 25 December — are marked as public holidays in Ukraine.

So, you can congratulate Ukrainian women with Christmas on 25 December with the rest of the world and again on 7 January, when Orthodox Christians celebrate it. Women of Ukraine would be delighted to find out you understand some history and culture of their festive moments and happy to get some extra holiday attention.

You can think of a virtual gift for this occasion. For instance, writing a special poem just for her and singing it as a song could be something no man ever did in her life. Or try to paint her portrait based on a photograph and email the picture to the girl of your dreams — it’s the attention that counts!

Remember, people from the countries of the former Soviet Union give each other presents for the New Year’s Eve, so you still have plenty of time to figure it out.

Festive season in Kyiv (Kiev) is looking bright.

Xmas holidays in other countries of the former Soviet Union

• Belarus women have the same schedule of public holidays — 2 Xmas dates marked red in the calendar.
• But remember that Russians only have 1 date — 7 December. It’s an important difference that you should pay attention to! You can still mention the fact that it’s a holiday in your country (if it is) and let the ladies know what you do, but they will be only into Christmas festivities 2 weeks later.
• Kazakhstan, where the majority of population are Muslim, still lists 7 January as a day off in the calendar. 25 December is a normal working day though.

Still, the major holiday in all these countries of the former USSR is the New Year’s Eve and not Xmas. New Year is the most beloved and widely celebrated day on the calendar.

Read also:

• How Ukrainians celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve
• 12 surprising New Year’s Eve customs in Russia
• 30 minutes to improve your results on EM
• The best time of the year to date Russian women seeking love online