| Christmas in Cuba
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Enjoy the season of the Advent of the Messiah with 123Christians Christmas in Cuba. Christmas has been celebrated as a national holiday in Cuba only for the last 3 years.
Cuba officially became an agnostic state in 1962, but the Christmas holiday was celebrated until 1969, when Fidel Castro decided it
was interfering with the sugar harvest. Accordingly, it was dropped from the Cuban calendar of holidays in 1969 as the island strove for a record sugar harvest.
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However, the church continued to call for greater respect for the celebration after authorities banned the public display of Christmas trees and nativity scenes, except for places frequented by tourists, such as hotels. In 1997 President Castro restored the holiday to honor the visit of Pope John Paul II in the island. Although Catholicism is a broad influence in Cuba, the number of practicing Catholics is limited.
With the restoration of Christmas, a large Mass is held in Havana’s Revolution Square. Thousands of Cubans worship at midnight Masses, as church bells ring out across Havana to mark the transition of Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.
Cubans celebrate Christmas with traditional commitment and festivities. Those who can come up with the money for it try to make a special meal and decorate their houses, and church-going Christians listen to services. Cubans spend the days before Christmas buying pork, apple cider, beans, bananas and other fruit in preparation for their holiday festivities. Mark the day of Advent in the Cuban fashion with 123Christians.
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