Cubans are celebrating their first Christmas in nearly 30 years following the communist government's decision to restore 25 December to the national holiday calendar.

Most Cubans still have not quite got the hang of saying "Merry Christmas" - or "Feliz Navidad", in Spanish. They tend to use instead the more general "Felicidades" or "Happy holidays".

Christmas was abolished in 1969

But this is not really surprising. After nearly 30 years during which 25 December passed as a normal working day in Cuba, many people can be forgiven for having forgotten what Christmas is all about.

But most seemed to enjoy the opportunity of a day off from work. Some went to midnight mass, others took revived the old tradition of the Christmas Eve family meal. In Cuba this consists of roast pork, a mixture of rice and black beans called "congri" and vegetables.

But as Cuba's Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega told a midnight mass congregation in Havana's cathedral, many people are only just starting to rediscover Christmas.

"It's like a strange feeling -- it's been so many years," Mr Ortega said. He urged Cubans to go out and wish each other a Merry Christmas.

One still has to look quite closely for the outward signs of Christmas in Cuba.

Although state hotels, shops and restaurants put up Christmas decorations for foreign visitors, in private homes Christmas trees and lights tended to peep shyly out from behind doors and windows.

The Cuban Communist Party newspaper, Granma, ignored the Christmas holiday completely on Friday, preferring instead the headline, "Communist Youth Celebrates 40 Januaries to Look Forward to the Coming 40th Anniversary of Cuba's 1959 Revolution".

But most people seemed happy that the Christmas holiday was back, and that they would be able to try wishing each other "Merry Christmas" next year as well.