CHRISTMAS IN RUSSIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22204, 6 March 1934, Page 10

CHRISTMAS IN RUSSIA

COMMUNISTS IN THE MAKING

(From Ocb Own Correspondent.) LONDON, January 19.

The Rome correspondent of the Morning Post sends an account of bow the Russian children spent their Christmas. The information is taken from the Osservatore Romano.

The Soviet newspapers devoted their columns before Christmas to explaining the silliness of belief in the fact of Christ, and in explaining why Russian children should expect no festival spirit to be abroad.

Toy-makers co-operated; Instead of bright boxes of tin soldiers the toy factories turned out large boxes of workmen and trade unionists. The manufacturers’ trumpets and drums were forbidden, and even the traditional Russian doll. “ Petruska ” was forbidden. It was too potent a memory of happier days for children under the old regime. “State editions”"of fairy tales were pot on sale. In these the old stories were told, but with a ridiculous difference. The heroes appeared no longer as fairy princes, but as Communists, and the reward no longer the hand of the fairy princess and “ half the kingdom,” but “the medal of Lenin”! Official efforts were made to prohibit Christmas trees, but this effort was cirenmvented by a pla. on words. In Russian a Christmas tree is called a “ pine tree.” Families had therefore only to ask for a pine tree and to tell their friends that they had a pine tree in order to satisfy officialdom and escape the attention, of the secret police. These “pine trees” then—by coincidence, *•£ coarse—all became covered with spangles and candles.