{"id":1750,"date":"2012-12-04T19:07:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T19:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/after-decades-long-ban-christmas-holds-new-meaning-for-cuba\/"},"modified":"2012-12-04T19:07:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-04T19:07:00","slug":"after-decades-long-ban-christmas-holds-new-meaning-for-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/12\/after-decades-long-ban-christmas-holds-new-meaning-for-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"After decades-long ban, Christmas holds new meaning for Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Havana, Cuba, Dec 4, 2012 \/ 12:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Local Catholics say that the reinstatement of Christmas as a national holiday in 1997 after decades of being outlawed has brought enormous good \u201cto the life of the nation,\u201d but that its deeper meaning still needs to be understood.\u00a0 \u00a0
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cOnce again Christmas proves to be a source of happiness: however, we cannot forget that this beneficial aspect of Christmas has its roots and its nature in the religious event of the birth of Jesus Christ,\u201d wrote editors from the Diocese of Pinar del Rio's magazine titled Vitral.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe more Christmas in Cuba is imbued with its roots and its Christian religious nature, as it was in the past, the more good it will bring to the Cuban people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSince its beginning as a nation, Catholic liturgical celebrations were the primary source of unity for the people and were highly important for the new nation, the editors said.<\/p>\n

\tBut although \u201cChristmas united Cubans,\u201d the Communist government banned public celebrations of the holiday in 1969.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cChristmas was still celebrated in Catholic and Protestant churches and in Christian homes, but public celebrations disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHowever, during his pastoral visit to Cuba in 1997, Pope Blessed John Paul II asked Cuban president Fidel Castro to reinstate Christmas as a holiday, and it was granted. One year later it was made an official law. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe people welcomed this decision with joy,\u201d the editors wrote, but since 29 years had passed since the last public celebration of Christmas in 1968, there was now an entire generation of Cubans who had no experience of it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cChristmas was reinstated as a holiday, but this is not enough to recover the spirit of Christmas that characterizes these days and that is a part of the western world to which Cuba belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe magazine acknowledged that an authentic understanding of Christmas has begun to spread in the country but that there is still much to be done. For this reason, it argued, the recovery of the religious meaning of Christmas is also a task of the State.<\/p>\n

\tSince a large percentage of the Cuban people are believers, and even non-believers and members of other religions \u201crecognize Jesus of Nazareth as an extraordinary man whose life and teachings had a positive impact on the history of humanity,\u201d the state media should be willing to broadcast public religious celebrations.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe people have a right to see their religious beliefs reflected in the media, just as much as politics, art and sports,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHow beautiful would it be during Christmas to see positive references to Christmas on television, radio or in newspapers, as is the case in the rest of the countries of the west and in many countries of the east! This doesn\u2019t hurt anyone. It does us all good. It does Cuba good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Havana, Cuba, Dec 4, 2012 \/ 12:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Local Catholics say that the reinstatement of Christmas as a national holiday in 1997 after decades of being outlawed has brought enormous good “to the life of the nation,” but that its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter decades-long ban, Christmas holds new meaning for Cuba<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Havana, Cuba, Dec 4, 2012 \/ 12:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Local Catholics say that the reinstatement of Christmas as a national holiday in 1997 after decades of being outlawed has brought enormous good “to the life of the nation,” but that its...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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