The President thanked the military for the opportunity to celebrate and honored those who gave their lives defending Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Ukrainians on Christmas.
We publish the full text of the greeting:
This is how light sounds. This is how a miracle sounds. This is how life sounds. This is how Christmas sounds. Our “Shchedryk”. Our Leontovych. Our history, which has a particularly symbolic meaning during the war.
The great Ukrainian composer Nikolai Leontovych lived and worked for several years in a city called Pokrovsk. He taught music to children here, created a choir, and wrote the second edition of Shchedryk there, which is heard in every corner of the Earth these days. Thus, the Ukrainian gave the world the musical spirit of Christmas.
And let every person in the world, hearing it, remember Ukraine. How we fight today for the main symbol of this holiday – hope and victory of life. On our land, in every city, in every town, including Pokrovsk.
The divine music written there and the evil that Russia brought there clearly shows the difference between us and them. We strive to create, while for some the meaning of life is to sow death. We want peace, we want justice, we want peace.
All we need is to live peacefully on our land, to see the sun, our sky, and in it – the Christmas star, and not Iranian “shaheds” and Russian missiles. But some are “bored and lacking action.” These words are proof of how far they are from God, from Christianity, from real faith. And this is proof why their captivity and darkness will lose. We know it. The world knows it.
And God knows it. And evil is losing. Ukrainians believe in it and pray for it. So that all the trouble and all that dirt disappears from our land forever. And Ukrainians certainly deserve it.
Dear people!
Today is a very special evening. Christmas Eve.
And this is our third Christmas during the war. Our large Ukrainian family cannot celebrate it to the fullest – as we would like, as it should be.
Not all of us are at home, unfortunately. Not all of us, unfortunately, have a home. And not all of us, unfortunately, are with us. However, despite all the troubles that the enemy has brought, he has not managed to capture or destroy the main thing – our hearts, the light within us, faith in goodness and mercy, the person inside each of us.
We have not lost our values, and so today we honor all those who gave their lives defending us. We pray today for all those at the front, to return alive. For all those in captivity, to return home. For all those whom Russia has driven into occupation. All those who have been forced to leave. All those who are having a hard time, but have not lost Ukraine within themselves, which means that Ukraine will never lose them.
And therefore, wherever we are, we are definitely together. We celebrate Christmas for the second time on one date as one big family, one country. For the second time in modern history, Christmas unites all Ukrainians. We are side by side today. And we will not get lost. In person or in our thoughts, we will congratulate each other, call our parents, kiss our children, hug our relatives, remember our own. In person, at a distance or in our souls – Ukrainians are together today. And while we do this, evil has no chance. And this unity and warmth towards each other is the true spirit of Christmas, its unique atmosphere, which we will preserve within ourselves and share with others. With everyone we love. With everyone who is so dear to us.
And today this is every Ukrainian man and woman.
I congratulate you all on Christmas!
Let the light of faith reign in our souls, let the light of hope fill our hearts, and let love and prosperity fill every home. Let the Lord protect you, your families, our Ukraine.
Let all the evil that came to our home disappear with his help. felt this holiday. And let the most valuable thing be when children's eyes shine with happiness. This is what we fight for.
This is what we pray for.
This is what we deserve.
Happy holiday to you, dear Ukrainians!
Christ is born! We glorify him!
- On November 16, 2017, the Verkhovna Rada voted for the Law, according to which December 25 becomes a day off. The deputies insisted that Christmas is celebrated all over the world on December 25 and Ukraine should show tolerance to all Christians who want to celebrate with the entire Christian world.
- Current President Petro Poroshenko signed the corresponding law on November 29, 2017. However, the Law does not cancel the celebration of Christmas on January 7.