ADULTS take the adage “Christmas comes but once a year” as an excuse to splurge on gifts. For children, it is a warning of the limits of Utopia. The tots would no doubt be angered to learn that in some places it is not true. This year Ukraine recognised December 25th as an official holiday, along with the traditional Orthodox Christmas on January 7th. It thus became the world’s fifth country with two Christmases, joining Belarus, Eritrea, Lebanon and Moldova.

The sources of this yuletide surplus lie deep in history. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII approved a reform of the Julian calendar, which dated from 45BC. Many European countries quickly switched over, though others took centuries. Russia only adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1918, after the Soviets came to power. But the Russian, Serbian and Georgian Orthodox churches stuck with the Julian one, which now runs 13 days late.

The atheist Soviet Union did not recognise Christmas as a public holiday. But after its collapse, its successor states had to pick a date. Belarus refused to choose: it endorsed two Christmases after independence in 1991. Moldova picked the Orthodox one, but added December 25th in 2013 as part of its tilt towards the EU. Lebanon, where a shaky peace is underpinned by a policy of celebrating everyone’s religious holidays, has long recognised the Armenian Christmas on January 6th. In Latvia, several attempts to accommodate the Russian Orthodox minority by recognising January 7th have been voted down. Latvians, like turkeys, don’t vote for Christmas.

In mostly Orthodox Ukraine, as in Moldova, recognising December 25th is part of a westwards turn. But its celebrations are more frugal than in the West. On Christmas Eve, Ukrainians toss straw under the table to recall Christ’s manger. The traditional meal, called “poor kutia”, consists of 12 meatless dishes (after kutia, a porridge with raisins, honey, nuts and seeds). “Rich kutia”, with meat dishes, follows on Christmas Day.

Some Ukrainians see no need for a new celebration when most citizens keep the later date. “I don’t mind that the [Roman] Catholics celebrate it as they always did, but why should we spend money on that?” asks Evgenia, a pensioner from Kiev. Among Ukrainians under 12, the idea of double Christmas probably polls much better.