Cuba. Fidel Castro announced the Cuban government as atheist as it took power in 1959. In 1969, the communist leader banned Christmas as he wanted people to stop 'partying' and start working on the sugar harvest. Later, it was Pope John Paul II who, during his visit in 1998, persuaded Castro to lift the ban.
Saudi Arabia has banned 'visible signs' of Christmas celebrations, and some areas of China are prohibited from the public holiday. North Korea is one of the most hostile places in the world to celebrate Christmas; anyone found celebrating can be sent to prison or face drastic punishments.
In 1647, the radically Puritan English Parliament outlawed Christmas services and the celebrations that went along with them; seven years prior, the Calvinist Presbyterians who ran the church in Scotland, and who were Puritan in all but name, had banned these things as well.
In 1969 Christmas was banned mostly because it got in the way of the sugar harvest. Gifts could still be given on January 6th, Epiphany. Almost 30 years later, Castro temporarily lifted the ban on Christmas so it could once again be celebrated in December 1997, in advance of the Pope's visit in January.
Comparison: Banned Christmas Presents In Different Countries
Was Christmas illegal in Russia?
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks banned Christmas celebrations. Many Christmas traditions, such as decorating a fir tree and giving presents, turned into New Year's traditions. Christmas became an official holiday and a non-labor day in Russia in 1991.
The Bolsheviks argued that Christmas was a pagan sun-worshipping ritual with no basis in scientific fact and denounced the Christmas tree as a bourgeois German import. In 1929, all religious holidays, including Christmas, were abolished by a decree of the Stalinist regime.
jpg. It is a common myth that Cromwell abolished Christmas, but it is based on a misunderstanding. It was the devoutly religious and parliamentarian party, working through the elected parliament, which during the 1640s clamped down on the celebration of Christmas and other saints' days.
The outright ban came in June 1647, when Parliament passed an ordinance banning Christmas, Easter and Whitsun festivities, services and celebrations, including festivities in the home, with fines for non-compliance - although they also introduced a monthly secular public holiday (the equivalent of a modern bank holiday ...
The United States is known as one of the countries with the biggest and most decorated Christmas Holiday out there. Cities like New York are worldwide known for its big Christmas Tree, lights and ice skating rings.
In 2018, Langfang, a city in Hebei province just south of Beijing, put a blanket ban on public displays for Christmas and the sale of items related to the holiday to "maintain social stability". At the same time, China is ready for the world to celebrate Chinese culture and ideas.
Like in the Soviet Union, but not in the rest of Eastern Europe, Christmas in Yugoslavia was combined with the New Year, and all the usual Christmas festivities, including the Christmas tree, Santa Claus and gift-exchange were just displaced by several days.
At this time, a period known as the Scottish Reformation, Christmas was considered extravagant and largely associated with Catholicism. As the country had adopted Protestant views during the Reformation, this association slowly led to a complete ban.
Half a century ago, Albania became the world's first atheist state. Religion of any kind was banned entirely, which forbade the celebration of religious holidays. Even today, Christianity takes a backseat to Islam in this coastal country.
In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas was not celebrated very much. New Year was made into the important time. Following the revolution in 1917, Christmas was banned as a religious holiday in 1929 and Christmas Trees were banned until 1935 when they turned into 'New Year' Trees!
December 25th isn't a public holiday - it's just a normal day! Only 0.2% of the Turkish population are Christians, and many of those are migrants/refugees from countries such as Syria and Iran, etc. Christians in Turkey will go to Christmas services at their churches.
Somalia's government has banned the celebration of Christmas, warning that such Christian festivities could threaten the nation's Muslim faith. "Those celebrations are not in any way related to Islam," an official at the religious affairs ministry said.
Christmas was first celebrated in 1552, 3 years after Christianity first came to Japan. Christmas has a history in Japan but was banned in 1612 along with the whole Christianity religion by the government at the time. In 1873, Japanese government allowed people to follow religion again, and Christianity came back.
They saw Christmas as a wasteful festival that threatened Christian beliefs and encouraged immoral activities, to (in Stubbs' words) the 'great dishonour of God'. The discontent felt within the Puritan community towards festivals led to the enactment of forceful legislation even before Cromwell's protectorate.
Before the Reformation in 1560, Christmas in Scotland had been a religious feasting day. Then, with the powerful Kirk frowning upon anything related to Roman Catholicism, the Scottish Parliament passed a law in 1640 that made celebrating 'Yule vacations' illegal.
On June 1647 Parliament passed an Ordinance that abolished Christmas Day as a feast day and holiday. While Cromwell certainly supported the move, and subsequent laws imposing penalties for those who continued to enjoy Christmas, he does not seem to have played much of a role in leading the campaign.
Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on December 25. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar.
The celebration extends to activities like horse racing, foxhunting, and rugby, aligning with the feast day of St. Stephen, who is also the patron saint of horses. Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26 each year.
