Cuban Christmas: Silent night
World Watch Monitor, December 31, 2017
Christmas in communist Cuba is a quiet affair. Catholic churches may hold a Christmas Mass, and some Evangelical churches will celebrate Christmas on their own premises but not in public spaces. Other Evangelical churches don’t hold Christmas services because of years of fierce government restrictions.
For many Cubans, bigger than Christmas is the anniversary of the revolution, 1 January. So, on 31 December, towns come alive with street parties and dancing. Many churches sidestep these festivities by holding all-night prayer services.
However, Christians watch what they say, even in church. For long after the revolution, Christmas couldn’t even be mentioned in a church. Nowadays such tight controls have relaxed to an extent, but “there continue to be government informants in all church services”.