Government announces that national October 31st holiday will be effective as of this year

To see international photos, click here

SANTIAGO.- At 11:30 AM this morning, President Michellet Bachelet passed the law establishing the 31st of October as the National Day of Evangelical and Protestant Churches – ringing in a new national holiday that, according to the announcements made by the government this morning, will be effective as of this year.

"Once the law has been passed, it will be sent to the Comptroller's Office this afternoon.  Since the Comptroller's Office stated that it would complete the registration in one day, it will then go on to the Diario Oficial and the Diario Oficial is waiting for the registration from the Comptroller's Office. To make a long story short, this means that October 31st of 2008 will be a national holiday", stated the Minister of the Presidency, Francisco Vidal.

Vidal pointed out that "the Evangelical population will, for the first time, have a day in honor of their history, tradition and faith as a demonstration of a tolerant and diverse nation of many peoples".

The holiday on October 31st, which plans to recognize the more than 3 million loyal Evangelicals and Protestants within the country, was approved by the Senate on Wednesday and unanimously approved by the Chamber of Deputies yesterday.