17. All the fun of Christmas was banned in the Soviet Union until 1936
Oliver Cromwell is not history’s only enemy of Christmas. The Soviet Union was governed according to the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of atheism, and many atrocities were committed against the Russian Orthodox Church. Unfortunately for the Soviets, Christmas was the most popular holiday in Russia, and the country’s mostly Christian population took it really seriously. After seizing power in 1917, the communist party made Christmas Day a normal day of work to discourage people from celebrating it. But when this didn’t work, and the Soviets’ boring Christmas substitute failed to catch on, they responded by banning Christmas altogether.
It wasn’t just the religious aspect of Christmas that offended Soviet taste, but its apparent links to the Bourgeois. Thus fir trees were banned (as in the illustration above), the Star of Bethlehem was replaced by the Communist Star, and anyone caught celebrating was in big trouble. Bravely, however, many people celebrated it in secret, despite the risks. The Communists were moreover happy for New Year’s Eve to be celebrated and gave people the day off work and school, meaning that most people simply celebrated Christmas 6 days late, with lots of food, singing, and quality time with the family.