This year, Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas on 25 December for the first time since the government changed the date from 7 January – the traditional day in Russia.
Some Ukrainian refugees have welcomed the move by the Orthodox Church, but were still shocked to be spending their second Christmas away from home.
Anna Tysovska, 33, who arrived in the UK on 1 April 2022, said she felt “guilty” thinking about her family back in war-torn Ukraine.
“People in Ukraine, they don’t have plans,” said Ms Tysovska, who left Kyiv with her aunt and cousin.
“Life is going on because people need to continue with their lives because it’s too long of a period to stop everything, but they’re not living the lives they used to be.
“One day, I was talking to my dad and he said, ‘we just had an explosion 10km away’.”
She added it feels “painful” to think Ukrainians may be “forgotten” as the war continues.
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