An Austrian kindergarten in a village near Salzburg unloads a Santa Claus before Advent. Parents and a model react outraged.
Salzburg – Huge excitement in a community near Salzburg: A kindergarten has uninvited Santa Claus, who was actually supposed to come to visit on St. Nicholas Day (December 6th). According to the news portal, the operators gave the reasons oe24.at Diversity and cultural differences. Some children were allegedly afraid of the figure, the reasoning went on to say. This causes heated discussions shortly before Advent.
Salzburger Land in Austria: Dispute over St. Nicholas’ visit to Plainfeld kindergarten
The model Kerstin Lechner, who is well-known in Austria, complained about the process in a much-noticed posting on Facebook. A kindergarten in the community of Plainfeld, which is around eight kilometers west of Salzburg, is affected.
“It’s a topic that really annoys me. I was always very excited, in a positive sense, when Santa Claus came to kindergarten. And YES, I can still remember it very well. And I think abolishing such a great custom is borderline,” wrote Lechner in her Facebook post. The mayor of Plainfeld also publicly expressed clear criticism.
St. Nicholas customs in Austria: Kindergarten near Salzburg causes excitement
“Outraged parents have reported to the community. Nobody understood why,” explained Wolfgang Ganzenhuber Salzburger Nachrichten (SN): “The plans for the kindergarten really horrified me.” As far as he knows, there are hardly any children with a migrant background in the Plainfeld kindergarten, said the town hall boss in an interview with the daily newspaper, referring to cultural differences.
According to his own statements, the mayor sought to speak to the kindergarten director. Loud SN The children’s parents should now vote on whether Santa Claus can come or not. A result was not yet available on Tuesday (November 14th). At this point, the discussions had already flared up beyond the small community with around 1,200 residents. Plainfeld is not only known because of its proximity to Salzburg.
Outraged parents have contacted the community. Nobody understood why. The kindergarten plans really horrified me.
The Salzburgring motorsport racing track is located on the edge of the municipality. Meanwhile, in Austria, the frightening figure Krampus comes along during Advent, accompanied by Saint Nicholas. The Krampus reprimands the naughty children and resembles a witch figure. The report states that Krampus is not necessarily present in every kindergarten in Salzburger Land.
Austria: Heated discussions about the St. Nicholas tradition in the Salzburger Land
The debate started nonetheless. Feacebook users eagerly commented on model Lechner’s posting. A number of commentators criticized the alleged neglect of customs and traditions. Other users of the social network feared a xenophobic discussion about Santa Claus.
In some cases, however, Santa Claus himself is also afraid; in one case, for example, the children’s parents were completely drunk. (pm)
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