Overview
- On December 25, a Christmas procession organized by the National Center of Folk Culture Museum of Ivan Honchar drew military personnel, veterans, families, and artists in Kyiv.
- Carolers carried Bethlehem stars, didukhs, and vertep masks along a route from Sofiyska Square to Maidan Nezalezhnosti via Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, Zoloti Vorota, and the Opera.
- The march moved past burned Russian tanks, an Azovstal banner, and a war memorial on Khreshchatyk, underscoring the wartime setting of the celebration.
- Ukrainian Institute of National Memory head Oleksandr Alfiorov said Soviet authorities surveilled and prosecuted carolers in the 1970s–80s and replaced authentic performers with state-approved theatricals and pseudo–New Year shows.
- Organizers note the Kyiv march resumed in 2014 and that caroling traditions date to the 17th century, with nationwide Christmas now observed together on December 25 after the 2023 church calendar change.