Berlin will host an upcoming Christmas tour under the slogan “Decolonizing Christmas,” it was announced. An association is inviting visitors to take a guided tour of the Christmas garden at the Friedenskirche Charlottenburg, aiming to make the “colonial and discriminatory images” in the Christmas story visible. The event was made possible by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.
Imam Seyran Ates—founder of a liberal mosque and former lawyer—spoke out against the tour, calling it absurd:
Basically, I’m really speechless and don’t know what words to use to comment on the development of recent years.
During Ramadan, traditional lighting is installed for Muslim communities, while in other cases, attempts are made to “deinstall” Christianity, she added. “I can’t call it any other way.” Ates also commented on the project’s treatment of the Christmas story: “
The birth of Jesus Christ is associated with power play. I really looked for a long time to see if I saw any connection between the Christmas story and colonization. No, that’s really more than absurd.
At the same time, she noted the growing influence of Islamic practices in German schools, such as gender segregation, enforcing wearing a headscarf, or serving halal food. After a daycare center in Lower Saxony caused controversy by serving only halal-slaughtered sausages, Erle Comprehensive School in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, announced that starting next school year, only halal meals will be offered.
Across Germany, Christmas traditions have faced further challenges. Several Christmas markets have renamed the popular alcoholic cocoa drink “Lumumba” amid accusations of racism. In recent years, organizers have recommended or mandated alternative names for the festive beverage.
