Siberian Region Bans Halloween Festivities at Schools

Far East Russia's republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has banned Halloween celebrations at schools across the region, local mediareported Friday.

Sakha’s Deputy Education Minister Alevtina Argunova circulated a letter to school principals demanding that they cancel all Halloween celebrations in classrooms, according to the news website SakhaDay.

Instead, Argunova was said to have encouraged school administrations to replace Halloween activities with those that “strengthen spiritual moral values, develop ideas of patriotism and preserve historical heritage.”

It was not immediately possible to verify the letter’s authenticity, but Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti said itconfirmed the ban with the regional education ministry.

While Halloween is not widely celebrated in Russia, some officials havewaged awar against the holiday amid the country's turn toward conservative and religious values. 

Sakha’s ban on school Halloween celebrations comes amid another controversy surrounding the holiday. 

Schools in a handful of Russian regionsplan to replace Halloween with pumpkin-themed religious festivities,promptingwarnings from Orthodox priests that pumpkins are not associated with Jesus.