The President of the Venezuela Nicholas Maduro announced that it wants to bring forward the Christmas celebrations to the October 1st instead of leaving them in December, he said as a sign of gratitude for the Venezuelan citizens and to create “a climate of peace, happiness and security“. The announcement of the advance of Christmas came in a climate of strong political instability and tension resulting from results from the presidential election of July 28 (marked by accusations of fraud), and a few hours after the Venezuelan prosecutor’s office issued a arrest warrant for the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The charge is forgery of documents and conspiracy. Maduro, however, will return to government on January 10, 2025.
“September is coming and I said to myself: it’s September and it already smells like Christmas. And that’s why this year, in homage to you, as a sign of gratitude towards you, I will decree the anticipation of Christmas to October 1st. Christmas has arrived for everyone, with peace, happiness and safety”
These were the words of Maduro pronounced during the television program “Con Maduro+” on Monday, September 2. It is not the first time that the Venezuelan President has announced theearly Christmas: the first time it happened in 2013following the death of former President Hugo Chavez; later it happened in 2020, when he decided to bring forward the Christmas celebrations to October 15th, and in 2021 with the choice of October 4th.
The anticipation of Christmas it doesn’t change formally the official date of the December 25thbut anticipates the celebrations and therefore the Christmas decorations in public spaces and above all the aid in the poorest neighborhoods. In fact, during the holidays, the distribution of food supplies and aid to the population is intensified, especially meat and more expensive foods. Even the bonus for state employees, the aguinaldo, similar to the thirteenth, It is normally provided by the government during the Christmas period, and is used to cover the major expenses of the Christmas period: gifts, ingredients for the Christmas dinner, such as the pernil, pork, typical of the Venezuelan Christmas holidays, and onions.
Venezuelan citizens are still unclear about how and when the bonus will arrive, following President Maduro’s announcement: this year the aguinaldo it could arrive earlier but in fractions, therefore divided into installments, with the start right from October. The choice of bring forward Christmas It could therefore be linked to President Maduro’s desire to stem the flow of difficult social situation of discontent and widespread poverty in the country.
Following Maduro’s announcement, the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) reacted harshly, condemning the choice and underlining the fact that the Christmas represents a universal celebration and established by the ecclesiastical authority, which liturgically sees its beginning on December 25th and which cannot be used in a biased way for political or propaganda purposes. The Episcopal Conference then recalled the official dates to consider for this Christmas: December 1st, when Advent will begin, and the so-called “liturgical time” of Christmas which will begin on December 25th and end on January 6th 2025.
