Part of an article from today....Like him, I hope the secularists in America do not push for such...sad days for Christians. The sufferings of Christ are still, as St. Paul writes, carried out in His People.
North Korea: According to reporting by ForeignPolicy.com, that feisty little country does not permit the celebration of Christmas, and anyone caught worshiping Jesus can be tortured or executed. Sounds like Rhode Island. Right now, there are about 70,000 Christians in North Korean labor camps decking the halls with rocks and concrete 10 hours a day.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, even threatened "unexpected consequences" if the South Korean government allowed lights on trees within view of the border. Kim calls that a provocation and a mean form of "psychological warfare."
Saudi Arabia: All non-Muslim religious activities are banned in public, so unless Santa puts a prayer rug in his sleigh and heads directly for Mecca, he is persona non grata in this nation. The Saudis even have a religious police force that runs around checking to see who has been naughty and nice in the Islamic context.
According to ForeignPolicy, several dozen Christmas trees imported from Holland were seized by Saudi authorities, hacked to pieces and sent back to the Netherlands. So there. No Christmas for you!
Cuba: Fidel Castro banned the holiday in 1969 saying Cubans were needed to harvest sugar cane on December 25, and don't even think about Christmas dinner. That ban lasted three decades until the Pope told Comrade Fidel to knock it off. Most Cubans are Catholic and didn't really appreciate the government calling Santa a symbol of "consumerism" and "mental colonization."