An Austrian kindergarten has announced that it will replace the popular St. Martin's Day celebration with a non-religious "Moon and Star Festival" so as not to offend the large migrant community.
Instead of the usual lantern parade organized in honor of St. Martin, the kindergarten in St. Pölten will present a "Moon Bear" figure, with which they want to emphasize inclusion and empathy, the RMX News news portal wrote
In Austria, Saint Martin of Tours, the patron saint of soldiers, beggars and winemakers, is honored on November 11. He was a 4th-century Roman soldier who shared half of his cloak with a beggar, and the religious holiday symbolizes generosity within the Roman Catholic Church, reports the international news agency V4NA.
According to the children's parents, the renaming of the St. Martin's Day celebration by the kindergarten's management is marginalizing Austrian and Christian traditions and risks undermining the cultural heritage they want to pass on to the next generation.
Politicians also criticized the move, according to local councilor Martin Antauer, it is contempt for Austrian customs.
"Moon and star festival instead of the lantern festival organized in honor of St. Martin. This is how St. Martin is being trampled under foot," he said according to the Express news portal, and emphasized
"We will certainly not be ashamed of our traditions".
Looking at the trends of recent years, it is not at all surprising that traditional European holidays with Christian roots are being replaced by others in the name of inclusion and in order not to offend migrant communities.
Last year, out of respect for diversity and cultural differences, did not visit .
The authorities then decided to keep him away from children, because Santa Claus traditionally wears a headgear with a clearly visible Christian symbol on it.
But the mayor of a Brussels district also had a very bizarre idea, who wanted Santa Claus to be made more "Moroccan", in view of the large Moroccan community living in the district. As he said , he would think it would be great if there was a "Sidi Nicolas" who would give clementines, a type of mandarin, to the children. The town of Berkane in Morocco is known for growing clementines, and the word "Sidi" means "sir" in Arabic.
Cover image: Illustration / angiesweb.com
