DUSHANBE-Tajikistan's president Emomali Rahmon is banning facial hair because the government trying to restrict the influence of Islam in the country.
Earlier this month, 10 Santa Clauses have been sent to a detention camp located 10 km away from Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe after being arrested because of violating the new legislation. The original reason to enforce the beard ban was to crackdown Islam and everything connected with it but now it is also affecting Santa Clauses.
In recent years, Santa Clauses from Finnland have started to promote Christmas all over the world because the market in Europe and USA is already saturated. This year, they also started a Santa Claus campaign in Tajikistan but the ban has been a major setback.
Olavi Toikka, an experienced Santa Claus, claims "a Santa Clause without a beard is just a burger without a patty. A real Santa Claus needs a beard."
Tapio Hiltutnen, Santa Claus novice for 2 years, says he "just wanted to bring joy and happiness to all children in the world and Tajikistan should not be excluded."
It has been reported that police forcibly shaved facial hair from the detained Santa Clauses. The future of the Santa Claus campaign in Tajikistan is still uncertain.
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