Christmas 2024: 6 countries where the holiday is not officially celebrated, including Uruguay

Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child that brings together families from all over the world, is one of the most important holidays of the year, not only for Catholics but for people of different confessions. However, some countries, such as Uruguay, do not officially celebrate it. In this note we explain what is happening there and in five other countries.

Uruguay

In 1919, and as part of the secularization of the country’s laws, Christmas was no longer officially celebrated in Uruguay.

The secularization process sought to achieve the institutional separation of Church and State. Therefore, in addition to suppressing Christmas, other religious holidays were also cancelled.

This happened because in 1917 Uruguay approved a Constitution, whose article 5 established the definitive separation of Church and State. Within this framework, a law enacted on October 23, 1919 determined that Christmas was renamed “Family Day”; and Holy Week receives the new name of “Tourism Week”.

Another change in the secularization process determined the change of name of several towns that had religious names.

However, and although it is not the official celebration, Uruguayans who wish to do so can continue celebrating Christmas, since December 25 is a national holiday.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country where Christians can only work temporarily, as long as they practice their religion in their homes and not publicly.

This rule makes it impossible for Christians to celebrate Christmas with the same freedom as other countries in the world.

In 2015, Mohammad al-Arefe, one of the most influential sheikhs in this country declared: “To my people, to my sons and daughters from Europe and other places: it is prohibited to attend Christmas and New Year celebrations, as they include alcohol, dancing, drunkenness and mixing of the sexes.”

North Korea

North Korean President Kim Jong Un ordered in 2016 that every December 25th the birth of the Child Jesus was no longer celebrated.

Instead, the dictator established that his grandmother be honored, who was born on Christmas night in 1919 and whom he calls “the sacred mother of the revolution.”

It was not the first time that Kim Jong Un showed his rejection of Christmas. In 2014, he threatened war when he learned that South Korea planned to erect a large Christmas tree on the border of both countries.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan is another Muslim country where Christmas is prohibited. This ban was intensified in December 2015 when the Ministry of Education of Tajikistan banned “the installation of a live (a 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 lead Muslims astray and harm their faith.”

In this country, Christians or Muslims who participate in this celebration can be punished with a fine of $20,000 and a sentence of up to five years in prison.

“Muslims should be careful not to follow celebrations like these that are in no way related to Islam, as it is feared that this could lead to tasyabbuh (imitation) and could unknowingly damage the belief (faith) of Muslims,” decreed the Brunei Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Somalia

The government of Somalia banned in 2015 the celebration of Christmas, considering it a threat to the country’s Muslim faith.

The Somali Ministry of Religious Affairs defended the decision, pointing out that holidays such as Christmas “are in no way related to Islam.”

Mohamed Kheyrow, a senior official at the Ministry of Justice, indicated that “making Muslims celebrate Christmas in Somalia is not the right thing to do.”