Mad dictator announces Christmas will take place in October for wild reason, but locals fume

Venezuelan dictator Nicols Maduro made a bizarre declaration on live television to claim that Christmas will take place on October 1, but locals are fuming about the decision

Adam Cailler Senior reporter and MSN lead

08:08, 04 Sep 2024Updated 08:09, 04 Sep 2024

[Christmas will start in October, for some reason]

Christmas will start in October, for some reason(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Christmas is coming early for one country, after mad dictator Nicols Maduro moved it to next month.

Despite most of the world cracking open the turkey on December 25, Maduro made a live television address this week demanding that the people of Venezuela get festive next month.

In a bizarre ramble, he said: It is September and it already smells like Christmas. "And that is why this year, in homage to you, in gratitude to you, I am going to decree the advancement of Christmas to October 1. Christmas starts on October 1 for everyone, Christmas has arrived, with peace, happiness and security.

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[Santa will take to the streets, but locals are fuming]

Santa will take to the streets, but locals are fuming(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

But it seems as though not everyone is eager to start singing Christmas carols just yet. Speaking to AP News, local man Ernesto Ruiz raged over the decision.

The 57-year-old in Caracas, said: Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, family reunions, parties, presents. But without money and with this political crisis, who can believe that there will be an early Christmas?

And Ins Quevedo, a 39-year-old secretary and mother of two children, said: We are all worried about how we are going to put food on the table, how we are going to pay for the bus, send the children to school and buy medicine when we need it.

[The bizarre decree was made on live television]

The bizarre decree was made on live television(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

I dont think they will improve our salaries or pay us the aguinaldo, she added, referring to the Christmas bonuses that workers usually receive at the end of the year.

The minimum wage has not changed since 2022: 130 bolivars per month, or about 2.67. Workers also earn a monthly food assistance bonus of about 30, and those who have signed up for a system of government benefits get an additional $68.

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Well see what this Christmas is all about, Quevedo said.

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