When Christmas was prohibit

While Christmas is celebrated globally, throughout history, various nations and regions have banned Christmas celebrations for religious, political, or ideological reasons.

These bans ranged from 17th-century religious reformations to 20th-century state-sponsored atheism.

Even today, in 2025, there are nations that maintain strict bans or significant restrictions on Christmas celebrations.

A 1931 edition of the Soviet magazine Bezbozhnik, published by the League of Militant Atheists, depicting an Orthodox Christian priest being forbidden to take home a tree for the celebration of Christmastide, which was banned under the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of state atheism.

Norman Rockwell's Silent Night: A Visual Symphony of Holiday Humanity

Norman Rockwell's (1894-1978) skilled hand captured the most heartwarming holiday moments as no one else could.

Over his career, he produced nearly 30 Christmas-themed covers for The Saturday Evening Post, The Literary Digest and numerous others for publications like McCall's and Boys' Life, as well as for cards and advertisements.

Charles-Clos Olsommer | Art Nouveau painter

Of French origin, Charles-Clos Olsommer (1883-1966) in Sierre, Switzerland, is naturalized in Neuchâtel in 1899.

He studied painting at the Art School in La Chaux-de-Fonds from 1901-1902 Professor Charles L'Eplattenier.

He attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich (1902-1903) and the School of Fine Arts of Geneva (1904-1905).

He settled permanently in Veyras in 1912. He created there, in a style out of common, the totality of his works.

Apostolos Geralis | Genre painter

Apostolos Geralis /Απόστολος Γεραλής (1886-1983) was born on the island of Mytelene and died in Athens, Greece.

In 1896 he enrolled at The School of Fine Arts, Athens, where he studied painting under Dimitrios Geraniotis, Spyros Vikatos, Georgios Jakobides and Georgios Roilos.

Between 1910-1915 he held a teaching position at the Pancyprian Gymnasium, Nicosia and later, between 1919-1920 he continued his studies in Paris, at The Julian Academy.

Georgios Jakobides | Genre painter

Greek painter Γεώργιος Ιακωβίδης / Georgios Jakobides (1853-1932) founded and was the first curator of the National Gallery of Greece in Athens.

Georgios Jakobides was one of the main representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School.

He was one of the thirty "immortal" members of Athen’s Academy when firstly created, in 1926.

His paintings, over 200, are found in the National Gallery of Athens, private collections and in museums and art galleries around the world including art galleries in Germany and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Vasily Polenov | Woman walking in a forest park, 1883

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov / Васи́лий Дми́триевич Поле́нов (1844-1927) was born in Saint-Petersburg.

His family placed great emphasis on the importance of art and culture.

Indeed his father, Dmitri Vassilievitch Polenov (1806-1872) was a connoisseur of the artistic world, and his mother, Maria Alexeievna Voeïkova (1816-1895) a gifted portraitist of the Brullov school.

He spent his childhood in Saint-Petersburg, a major cultural center and Carely, in the Olonentsky countryside.

Helen Allingham RWS | Victorian era painter

Helen Allingham RWS (née Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson; 26 September 1848 - 28 September 1926) was an British* watercolour painter and illustrator of the Victorian era.

Biography

Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson was born at Swadlincote in Derbyshire, the daughter of Alexander Henry Paterson, a medical doctor, and Mary Herford Paterson.

Helen Paterson was the eldest of seven children. The family moved to Altrincham in Cheshire when she was one year old.

In 1862 her father and her 3-year-old sister Isabel died of diphtheria during an epidemic.

The family then moved to Birmingham, where some of Alexander Paterson's family lived.

William Dyce | Pre-Raphaelite painter

Prof William Dyce FRSE RSA RA (1806-1864) pioneer of state art education in Great Britain.

Dyce studied at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh and the Royal Academy schools, London.

One of the first British students of early Italian Renaissance painting, he visited Italy in 1825 and 1827-1828, meeting in Rome a group of young German painters, the Nazarenes.

Claude Monet | The Houses of Parliament, 1900-1905

Claude Monet painted a series of oil paintings of the Palace of Westminster, home of the British Parliament, in the fall of 1899 and the early months of 1900 and 1901 during stays in London.

All of the series' paintings share the same viewpoint from Monet's window or a terrace at St Thomas' Hospital overlooking the Thames and the approximate canvas size of 81 cm x 92 cm (32 in x 36 3/8 in).

They are however painted during different times of the day and weather circumstances.

Robert Antoine Pinchon | Post-Impressionist painter

Claude Monet referred to him: "As a surprising touch in the service of a surprising eye".

Among Robert Antoine Pynchons' important works are a series of paintings of the River Seine, mostly around Rouen and landscapes depicting places in or near Upper Normandy.

Robert Antoine Pinchon (1886-1943) was a French Post-Impressionist landscape painter of the Rouen School- l'École de Rouen.

He was consistent throughout his career in his dedication to painting landscapes en plein air.

Arthur John Elsley | Genre painter

Arthur John Elsley (20 November 1860 - 19 February 1952) was an English painter of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, famous for his idyllic genre scenes of playful children and their pets.

He achieved great popularity during his life and much of his work appeared in calendars, magazines and books.

Elsley was born in London, one of six children of John Elsley, coachman and amateur artist, and Emily Freer.

Elsley's father had exhibited at the British Institution Exhibition in 1845 but later in life contracted tuberculosis which forced him into early retirement.

Pasquale Celommi | A good catch, 1895

Pasquale Celommi (1851-1928) was an Italian painter, known for his outdoor scenes of Italian life in verist style.

Born in Montepagano, Abruzzo, Italy, he developed a keen eye for detail and depicted everyday life with a captivating realism.

Thanks to the help of a local landowner, Don Camillo Mezzopreti, and to a contribution of 30 lire by the Municipality, he managed to study until the year 1873, when he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.

Pasquale Celommi | Verist painter

Pasquale Celommi (1851-1928) was born in Montepagano - Italy, into a family of fishermen.

Celommi showed an early interest in art and often drew in his home as a child.

Celommi decided to receive academic training and moved Florence to study under Antonio Ciseri at the Academy of Florence.

He was a strong student and often praised by his teacher Ciseri. Celommi started exhibiting his work in various regions of Italy.

Celommi had a large exhibition in Turin and eventually in Rome.

Paul Chabas | Figurative painter

Paul Émile Chabas (1869-1937) was a French painter and illustrator and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

He was born in Nantes, and had his artistic training under William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. He first exhibited at the Salon in 1890.

He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and in 1912 received the Médaille d’honneur.

His preferred subject was a young girl in a natural setting.

Firmin Baes | A Master of Pastel painting

Firmin Baes (1874-1943) was a Belgian painter.

The son of the decorative painter Henri Baes, Firmin Baes was active as a portrait painter and a painter of still life subjects, figures, landscapes and interiors.

He studied under Léon Frédéric at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels between 1888-1894, and the elder artist’s influence is evident in many of Baes’s early paintings.

Pasquale Celommi | Four Seasons / Le Quattro stagioni, 1890-1901

In the series of the "Four Seasons", commissioned to Pasquale Celommi by the Commander Pasquale Ventilj, the pastoral world is reproposed through rustic "types” who reveal themselves rather self-conscious if compared to the more dramatic scenes of the same country artist Teofilo Patini.

The Four Seasons are part of the collection of the The Pinacoteca Civica of Teramo.

Pasquale Celommi | Winter / Inverno, 1890-1900 | Pinacoteca di Teramo

Everett Shinn | Ashcan School painter

Everett Shinn (1876-1953), a painter, illustrator, designer and playwright who was best known for his images of the theater, was born in New Jersey in 1876.

He studied industrial design in Philadelphia from 1888-1890, and in 1893, he enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

At the same time, Shinn supported himself as an artist-reporter for the Philadelphia Press, where he became friends with William Glackens, George Luks and John Sloan, whose style of urban realism influenced Shinn to depict the bleaker aspects of city life.

Robert Henri | Painter and Art teacher

Robert Henri (1865-1929) was an influential American painter and a leading figure of the Ashcan School of American realism.

He is best known for his belief in "art for life's sake", which encouraged artists to find subject matter in the everyday, often gritty, urban life around them, and for his profound impact as a teacher on a generation of American artists.

Antonio Canova | Paolina Borghese, 1805-1808

The reclining Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix in the center of the room holds an apple in her hand, evoking the Venus Victrix in the judgement of Paris, who was chosen to settle a dispute between Juno (power), Minerva (arts and science) and Venus (love).

The same subject was painted on the ceiling by Domenico de Angelis (1779), framed by Giovan Battista Marchetti's tromp d'oeil architecture, and was inspired by a famous relief on the façade of the Villa Medici.

This marble statue of Pauline in a highly refined pose is considered a supreme example of the Neoclassical style.

Edward Robert Hughes | Pre-Raphaelite painter

Edward Robert Hughes RWS (1851-1914) was an British painter who worked prominently in watercolours.

He was influenced by his uncle, and eminent Pre-Raphaelite, Arthur Hughes.

Having settled on his career choice, Edward Hughes attended Heatherley's in London to prepare himself for the chance of auditioning for the Royal Academy School.

Hughes became a student at the Royal Academy School in 1868.