Tajikistan bans Christmas trees and gift-giving in schools
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The education ministry has issued a decree banning "the use of fireworks, festive meals, gift-giving and raising money" for New Year celebrations as well as "the installation of a Christmas tree either living (felled wood) or artificial" in schools and universities.
The restrictions are the strongest yet imposed in the mainly-Muslim former Soviet republic in Central Asia since the collapse of the USSR in 1991 although the country has been toning down the festivities for some time.
Last year, for instance, it banned Russia's version of Father Christmas.