These countries do not celebrate Christmas
Considered the world’s most closed country, North Korea doesn’t celebrate Christmas. December 24 is instead commemorated as the birthday of Kim Jong-suk, supreme leader Kim Jong-un’s grandmother.
Only tourist hotels are decorated for Christmas in this small country nestled in the heart of the Himalayas. Its inhabitants, mainly Buddhists, celebrate other holidays, instead, but their dates change from year to year as they are based on the lunar calendar.
While religious tolerance has increased in recent years, allowing expatriates to celebrate Christmas in private, this kingdom continues to impose certain limits. After all, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and site of the Hajj (annual pilgrimage).
Celebrating Christmas has been strictly forbidden in this small Southeast Asian sultanate ever since it introduced Islamic law (sharia) in 2014. Violators face up to five years in prison and a heavy fine.
Since opening up in the 1990s, China has seen more and more of its affluent city dwellers take advantage of Christmas shopping opportunities. That said, some regions of the country still prohibit festive aspects of the celebration, considering it too Western.
After enduring nearly three decades of civil war, this country justified its decision to ban Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in 2015 inpart for security reasons.
Ironically, the birthplace of Christianity does not uniformly celebrate the Nativity. In December, Israelis are more likely to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, by setting out menorahs, making doughnuts, and exchanging gifts.