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How Christmas was banned in Cuba


Christmas in Cuba.
Christmas in Cuba.

After nearly 30 years of prohibition cumbersome, Christmas emerges as a new opportunity.

On Wednesday, December 18th, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba approved, as if speaking of coincidences, the import of new and used cars into the country.
My God, the same media frenzy when happened when, in 1997, shortly before the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Havana, without explanation the revolutionary government, pen in hand, decreed and reinstated December 25 as a holiday.
Since then our fearless grandparents dusted off and show off their traditions and despite adversity, disguise the island with aromatic smells because Christmas Eve, some more, and many less, adorn their homes with a piece of pork, chicken, rice , beans, and vegetables, preferably yucca, seasoned with mojo yummy sour orange based and lots of garlic. It's the same with holiday deals offered by restaurants.
All national heat pump around which gather melancholy and proud , happy or at peace , Catholics and non-Catholics , agnostics , Protestants, Santeria , Freemasons and atheists, all to celebrate the holidays and wait for the advent of a child born more than 2000 years ago.
Many reasons were used to erase Christmas: The death of Ernesto Guevara, the sugar harvest period, revolutionary priorities--in short, everything that you already know plenty about. But it was a Christmas message that ironically came from heaven on December 24th, 1968, which aroused the fury of the ex - commander in chief and after a resounding curse, ended the celebration.
Fidel Castro was sitting to the right of a shortwave radio tuning VOA. Suddenly the voice of astronaut Bill Anders was heard. Anders was approaching the lunar sunrise, and instead of a warring words, he read the first verses of Genesis, thus expressing his admiration for the wonders of the Cosmos and the greatness of his Maker.
Castro was outraged. He felt belittled. However, he continued to listen, waiting for a gunshot, but instead got lightning coursing through his veins.
The message from heavens came thusly : "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
Fury consumed Castro. He got up, shoulder folded his blanket, arched his arm up and, like a Spanish dancer, rang his heels. After a while, it was heard " ...... (expletive), Christmas is over."
Christmas wasn't the only thing suspended, but since then, all religious events fell the victim to a sort of amnesia imposed by the young, triumphant government in 1959. After nearly 30 years of cumbersome prohibition, Christmas emerges as a new opportunity. Our eclectic-religious, cultural heritage and our family traditions inherited from the Spanish conquest are not erased by decree. They remain and this is proof. MERRY CHRISTMAS.
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