Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced plans to move Christmas to October.

In his weekly television show on Monday, Maduro said "It's September, and it already smells like Christmas."

"That's why this year, as a way of paying tribute to you all, and in gratitude to you all, I'm going to decree an early Christmas for October 1."

The decision by the 61-year-old president is seen as a move to distract people from the turmoil that has engulfed the country following July's contested presidential election.

People are angry over moving up a joyous season

Christmas is big in Catholic-majority Venezuela, and some people weren't happy about the idea of celebrating the holiday season amid turmoil in the country.

Jose Ernesto Ruiz, an office worker in the capital, Caracas, told the Associated Press news agency that: "Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, family reunions, parties, presents… (but) without money and with this political crisis, who can believe that there will be an early Christmas?"

This is not the first time Maduro has moved up Christmas to an earlier date. He also did so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mass protests continue in Venezuela

Opposition parties continue to protest the outcome of July's election, saying that Maduro is illegally clinging on to power.

They accuse Maduro of widespread cronyism and corruption which has brought the country's economy to its knees.

A widespread crackdown on opposition has fueled more concerns about the state of the country.

More than 2,400 people have been imprisoned so far, according to news agency AFP, with journalists, politicians and aid workers among those jailed.

The US, EU and several Latin American countries say the election results are fraudulent and have backed the opposition's claim that their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, is the real winner.

ss/rm (AP, AFP, dpa)