In the Belgian city Brugge in Western Flanders, it has been decided that this year’s Christmas market will change its name to Winter market. And the traditional Christmas lighting will be will be replaced by something more «neutral», according to the Belgian medium, HLN.
As in several other European cities, the annual Christmas market is a historical tradition, accessible for everyone, whether one is religious or not. Neither the citizens nor the politicians in the city are happy with the decision made by the organisers of the Winter market.
– We are not allowed to mention any Christmas market, just the Winter market. Not only is this decision utterly wrong; it is also contradictory to our identity, the politician Pol Van Den Driessche with the the local opposition party, N-VA, says.
Indignant citizens link the decision with Islam and point out that local Flemish traditions and norms are on the verge of vanishing, while at the same time the local citizens have to respect Ramadan and other imported customs.
According to the organiser of the Winter market, the decision was made in order to make the market «more neutral» to everyone. Similar decisions have been made in other large cities like Brussels and Antwerp.
Translated to English by Lars Hoem