President Fidel Castro has granted Cubans a public holiday on Christmas Day as a special gesture to Pope John Paul II, ahead of the latter's visit to the communist island.
Dr Castro announced the decision to grant a Christmas Day holiday - for this year only - while speaking to parliament on Saturday.
"Fidel announced that, as an exception, this year December 25th will be a holiday as a gesture towards the visit of the Pope and towards Christians," the newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported.
The news agency Prensa Latina said Dr Castro had also said Cuban media would publish the Pope's special Christmas message, which he traditionally sends to countries he visits.
Christmas was dropped as a national holiday in Cuba in 1969.
The Pope, who will visit Cuba at the end of January, had asked when he met Dr Castro at the Vatican last year that Christmas be restored on the island. Ties between the state and Catholic Church have often been strained since Dr Castro's revolution in 1959, and the church has long sought to have Christmas restored as a holiday. Many Cubans continue to celebrate the day. Those that can afford it decorate their houses and make a special meal, and practising Christians attend church services.
Speaking about the papal visit, Dr Castro also said the government had agreed to make available half its transport to ensure people can attend Masses the Pope will celebrate in the cities of Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba. Cuban church authorities have been concerned there will not be enough transport.
Dr Castro said Havana had put no conditions on the papal visit and not asked that the pontiff speak against the ongoing US embargo on Cuba, which the Pope opposes. "He should feel free to say what he pleases," the Cuban leader said.