Updated By: LatestGKGS Desk
Iraq officially declares Christmas as a national public holiday
Iraq officially declares Christmas as a national public holiday: Details, Highlights
In a historic first, the Iraqi government has officially announced Christmas Day a national holiday across the country.
The declaration came after the Iraqi Cabinet approved a law to mark December 25 as an official holiday across the country “on the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ”.
The Cabinet voted on an amendment to the national holiday's law in the country that Christmas Day is a holiday for all Iraqis and not only for the Christian community, as it had been for decades.
Iraq's Christian population has been decimated in recent years following the chaos surrounding the withdrawal of Western troops and the rise of the Islamic State terror group.
In 2003, there were around 1.4 million Christians in Iraq, however, numbers have now fallen as low as300,000. The country is now 95 percent Muslim.
Iraq
Capital: Baghdad
Largest City: Baghdad
Official Languages: Arabic & Kurdish
Currency: Iraqi dinar (IQD)
President: Barham Salih
Prime Minister: Adil Abdul-Mahdi
