By Anita Snow
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, December 22, 1998; 9:07 p.m. EST

HAVANA (AP) -- Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega said Tuesday the church must strive to restore the religious traditions of Christmas, now that it has been declared a permanent holiday in Cuba.

``There is great work that the church must undertake,'' Ortega, the island's leading Catholic churchman, said at a news conference. ``It is a job that I think will take many years.''

While Cubans have embraced the Communist government's decision to make Dec. 25 an official day off, few understand that the day commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, Ortega said.

``The people accept with enthusiasm any day off,'' he said. ``Now there is curiosity on the part of the new generations about what Christmas is.''

Despite increasing tensions between Cuba's churches and a government that declared itself atheist in 1962, Christmas remained an official holiday in Cuba until 1969.

The government argued at the time that holidays interfered with the sugar harvest, even canceling the New Year's holiday that year. The New Year's holiday, which also marked the triumph of the revolution led by Fidel Castro, soon returned. But Christmas remained a day of work.

In November, the Communist Party said mechanization had reduced the need for manpower in the sugar harvest and declared that Christmas once again would be a holiday.

In 1991, the Communist Party dropped its ban on religious believers, and a year later, Cuba declared itself a secular state.

Restrictions on believers have fallen away and church-state relations have warmed, especially since the papal visit.