Ukrainians in Chicago celebrate December Christmas: ‘We want to be united with the rest of the world’

A woman lights a candle as she prays before Christmas Mass at St. Volodymyr & Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukrainian Village on Monday. This is the first year Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas in December as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church distances itself from Russian Orthodox Church practice as the war in Ukraine will soon enter a third year. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times)

In Ukrainian Village, churches that typically see few visitors on Dec. 25, instead saw thousands Monday, who all came out to celebrate Christmas for the first time in line with the West, rather than Russia.

“It’s our first time celebrating with the whole world,” said Vyacheslav Pilyuyko, a native Ukrainian who grew up celebrating the holiday on Jan. 7. “We were [celebrating] with Russia, but now we’re separating from Russia, as much as possible.”