Maduro declares Christmas in October amid Venezuela’s post-election strife

“Whatever happened to Christmas?” Frank Sinatra once asked. In Venezuela, the answer is that it has been brought forward to October.

The country’s strongman president, Nicolás Maduro, made the curious announcement that this year’s festivities would begin in October on Monday, in the midst of a political bleak midwinter for his crisis-stricken land.

“It’s September and it already feels like Christmas. So this year – as a way of paying tribute to you and thanking you – I’m going to decree that Christmas be brought forward to 1 October,” Maduro proclaimed during one of his frequent TV appearances.

Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, who is facing what experts call the greatest political challenge of his turbulent 11-year rule, promised all Venezuelans a Christmas of “peace, happiness and security”.