Many countries don't celebrate Christmas as a public holiday, especially predominantly Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, and Afghanistan, or Buddhist-majority countries like Bhutan, where December 25th is a regular workday; even in places like China, Japan, and Turkey, it's not a national holiday, though secular traditions (trees, gifts) might appear, while some Orthodox countries celebrate Christmas on January 7th.
Though Japan does not view Christmas as a religious holiday, it is still celebrated as a way to reunite families. So, if you want to explore Japan this coming Christmas, why not sort your travel early by booking your JR Pass!
An Act of Parliament made Christmas illegal in England from 1644 until the Restoration started in 1660 - but that wasn't Oliver Cromwell's doing. During his reign as Lord Protector however, he was instrumental in bringing in lots of strict rules that enforced this law.
In China, about 6% of people are Christians, so most people only know a few things about Christmas. Because of this, Christmas is only often celebrated in major cities. In these big cities there are Christmas Trees, lights and other decorations on the streets and in department stores.
Muslims don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday but we absolutely honor the story at the heart of it. In fact, Mariam or Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the most honored women in Islam. An entire chapter of the Quran is named after her.
*These 10 Countries Do Not Celebrate Christmas | Why They Do It Differently #ChristmasAroundTheWorld
Can Muslims say "merry Christmas"?
Whether Muslims can say "Merry Christmas" is debated, with some scholars allowing it as a general greeting of goodwill (especially in secular contexts) as long as it doesn't affirm Christian beliefs about Jesus' divinity, while others advise avoiding it to prevent endorsing a religious festival contrary to Islamic tenets, suggesting neutral phrases like "Happy Holidays" instead. The core issue is balancing kindness and social harmony with core Islamic beliefs, particularly the strict monotheism (Tawhid) that rejects Jesus as God's son, which Christmas celebrates.
Muslims hold a profound respect for Jesus Christ, recognizing him as a divinely chosen prophet and the Messiah, born miraculously through a virgin birth as a testament to Gods power. This event, along with Jesus ability to speak in the cradle, serves as a reminder of Gods omnipotence.
Santa Claus is known as 圣诞老人 (Shèngdàn Lǎorén, literally meaning old Christmas man) in Chinese and his gift giving is well known in China. Many young Chinese enjoy Christmas parties with their friends and exchange gifts.
While the CCP does allow a small number of missionaries to operate under strict government control, these regulations prohibit foreigners from preaching, sharing their faith, or establishing religious organizations without official approval.
In Hong Kong, Chinese Christians celebrate Christmas with Church services in Chinese. At the Anglican Cathedral, some services are held in English, because Europeans who live and work in Hong Kong attend them as well as people from Hong Kong. The services in Chinese and English are held at different times of the day.
How did the Christmas Ban come about? In January 1642 a bill was passed by Parliament, and signed off King Charles, legislating for a monthly day of prayer, repentance and fasting.
During the early Soviet period, all religious celebrations were discouraged under the official state policy of atheism. 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.
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.
The KFC manager came up with the idea to have a "party barrel" for the holidays for customers. In 1974, he started the "Kentucky for Christmas" or "Kurisumasu ni wa Kentikki" campaign, saying that families should eat KFC chicken on December 24 as a tradition.
Santa Claus in Japan is known as サンタクロース (Santa-Kurosu) or サンタさん (Santa-san). Like elsewhere, Japanese children write their letters to Santa and look forward to a visit from Santa and a gift from him on Christmas morning.
Except in Japan's minority Christian communities, Easter is not typically marked by any special form of celebration. Christmas in Japan is celebrated on a much larger scale as a commercial and secular festival, but again is not an official public holiday.
At least 100 million people—nearly one-third of estimated believers in China—belong to religious groups facing “high” or “very high” levels of persecution (Protestant Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and Falun Gong).
While Christianity is currently the predominant religion in North America, Latin America, and Europe, the religion is declining in many of these areas, particularly in Western Europe, United States, Australia and New Zealand.
No, owning a Bible isn't strictly illegal in China, but obtaining and distributing them is heavily regulated, with recent crackdowns making it difficult, especially online; they are only permitted for sale through government-approved church bookstores, and bringing in large quantities or selling them outside these channels can lead to trouble, highlighting the state's control over religious materials.
In Iceland, they are about trolls or half-trolls. We have thirteen brothers, also known as the Yule Lads or jólasveinarnir, who visit children, one at a time, every night from the 12th to the 24th of December. Read moreWe're Now a Travelife Partner! And much like Santa Claus, the Yule Lads know who's been bad or good!
The Mandarin name for Christmas is “shèng dàn jié”, a phrase that roughly means “the holiday celebrating the birth of a saint”. In simplified Chinese, “shèng” or “saint” is substituted for “ye” referring to “Jesus”.
British people call him both Father Christmas (the traditional, older name) and Santa Claus (the Americanized name), with usage often depending on age, though the terms are now generally used interchangeably for the same gift-giving figure. Younger generations might lean towards "Santa," while older people often stick with "Father Christmas".
In the Qurʾān, Mary receives an annunciation and conceives Jesus by God's command in two principal passages: the angels (or a "spirit") tell her she has been chosen to bear a "pure son" (3:42–47; 19:16–22), and conception occurs through God's "breath/Spirit" (21:91; 66:12); Scholars note clear points of contact with ...
The findings underscore three pivotal conclusions: Indonesian Muslim women emphasize the importance of virginity and the need to protect it. Importantly, they highlight that virginity is not solely judged based on the hymen. Moreover, their stories reveal that Islam honors women who maintain their virginity.
The various sects of Islam have different views regarding this topic; traditionally, mainstream Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified but was bodily raised up to heaven by God, while Ahmadi Muslims reject this belief and instead contend that Jesus survived the crucifixion, was taken off the cross alive and ...
