One of the most popular holidays in the world is Christmas. The authorities of many countries are prohibited from celebrating Christmas. Those who celebrate Christmas can be punished with a heavy fine and even spending several years in jail.
These are some of the countries that have banned Christmas.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country where Christians can enter only to work temporarily. The country has a strict rule that other religions can be practiced only in their homes and not in public.
This rule makes it impossible for Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus with the same freedom as in other countries of the world.
North Korea
In 2016, North Korean President Kim Jong Un ordered that Christmas be stopped being celebrated on every December 25.
Instead, the North Korean dictator established that homage be paid to his grandmother, who was born on Christmas night in 1919 and whom he calls “the holy mother of the revolution.”
This was not the first time that Kim Jong Un showed his rejection of Christmas.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan is another Muslim-majority country that has banned celebration of Christmas.
This prohibition became more acute when in December 2015 the Ministry of Education of Tajikistan prohibited “the installation of a live (real tree) or artificial Christmas tree” in schools or universities.
The ban also covered the “use of fireworks, festive foods, gift-giving, and fundraising.”
Brunei
Brunei banned the public celebration of Christmas in December 2014, arguing that it “could mislead Muslims and harm their faith.”
In this country, Christians or Muslims who participate in this celebration can be punished with a fine of 20 thousand dollars and a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.
“Muslims should be careful not to follow celebrations such as these that are not in any way related to Islam, as there are fears that this may lead to tasyabbuh (imitation) and could unknowingly damage the aqidah (faith) of Muslims,” Brunei’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) decreed.
Somalia
The government of Somalia banned the celebration of Christmas in 2015, considering it a threat to the nation’s Muslim faith.
Somalia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs defended this decision of the state stating that celebrations such as Christmas “are not related in any way to Islam.”
For his part, Mohamed Kheyrow, a senior official at the Somali Ministry of Justice, said that “making Muslims celebrate Christmas in Somalia is not the right thing to do, those things are akin to abandonment.”