War on Santa: Which European nations banned Christmas in the past?

euronews (in English)

Some religious and political ideologies opposed Christmas in European history, and festive traditions have proved divisive across the continent at times.

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00:00Why do Europeans celebrate Christmas on different days?

00:09The difference in dates stems from the fact that the Catholic Church and some Orthodox churches

00:16follow separate calendars. In

00:201582 Pope Gregory XIII

00:23tweaked the Julian calendar, which had been introduced by the Romans, but slightly

00:29miscalculated the length of a year.

00:31The new Gregorian calendar is now 13 days ahead of the old Roman system.

00:38Orthodox Christians, however, kept using the ancient calendar,

00:43meaning that the 25th of December for them falls on the 7th of January for those following the Western calendar.

00:51Some Orthodox communities, such as Romania, Albania,

00:56Greece,

00:57Bulgaria, and Cyprus adjusted to the Gregorian calendar and now celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December.

01:05But the more conservative ones, like those in Russia, Serbia,

01:10Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova, still celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January.

01:17In 2023,

01:19following the Russian invasion,

01:21Ukraine, which used to follow the same schedule as Moscow, shifted its Christmas day to the 25th of December.

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