Ukrainians say when they plan to celebrate St. Nicholas Day
In response to a Facebook post asking whether St. Nicholas Day should be celebrated on December 6 rather than December 19, 84% of commenters who expressed a clear preference said they would celebrate on December 19.
The Dumka Hromady Facebook page published a post asking, “St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6, not December 19! Do you agree?” The post drew about 1,900 reactions and nearly 2,500 comments.
UOJ analyzed the responses. Among users who clearly stated their position, 84% said they celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 19, while 13% favored December 6 and another 2% said they observe both dates.
The disparity was even more striking in the number of likes. Comments supporting December 19 received 8,766 likes – 99.7% of all likes counted – while those favoring December 6 received just 23, or 0.3%.
The most popular comment, with 2,400 likes, read: “It's up to you when you celebrate. But I know St. Nicholas Day is December 19.”
Another response – “Yes, of course I agree that it's December 19, and no other date, just as it was for our parents and grandparents” – received 1,000 likes. The comment “Orthodox Christians celebrate on December 19” drew 553 likes.
“My patronymic is Nikolaevna, and I've been celebrating on December 19 for 48 years. I don't get involved in political disputes,” wrote another commenter, whose response received 370 likes.
The main concern among supporters of the traditional date was their opposition to being told when to celebrate. The second most popular comment, with 2,100 likes, summed up that sentiment: “Celebrate whenever you want, but don't impose your views on others.”
Many appealed to family traditions: “We'll celebrate the way our parents did” and “It's been the 19th for as long as I can remember.”
One of the most common arguments involved birthdays. “If you're moving the dates, then move your own birthday back 14 days,” one commenter suggested, receiving 164 likes. Others pointed to people named Nicholas because they were born on December 19.
Some commenters explained their choice as a matter of loyalty to Orthodoxy. Many explicitly identified their Church: “People of the Orthodox faith in the UOC celebrate on December 19.”
Others stressed that religious holidays should not depend on political authorities: “Governments will change more than once. Does that mean we should keep changing the holidays too?”
Supporters of December 6 largely made political arguments, writing comments such as “Everything in Ukraine should be Ukrainian” and “December 19 is for Muscovites.”
Some users criticized the question itself, calling the post a provocation that divides people during wartime.
On September 1, 2023, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) adopted the Revised Julian calendar, under which St. Nicholas Day falls on December 6. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) retained the Julian calendar, which places the feast on December 19.
Earlier, the UOJ also reported on an online poll asking Ukrainians whether they celebrate Christmas on January 7.
