Ukraine's New Year celebrations this year will feature Saint Mykolay, the Orthodox Christian counterpart of Santa Claus, instead of the Soviet-era Father Frost figure. Saint Mykolay will arrive in Kyiv on 19 December and take up residence at St Sophia’s Cathedral. During the Soviet regime, New Year's Eve was promoted as the main holiday instead of Orthodox Christmas, but it used some of the traditional Christmas symbols including Father Frost. Read more: themoscowtimes.com