Which other beliefs could be offended? There is really only one involved. There are people of every faith and no faith in Belgium, but only since Muslims have arrived in large numbers has there been any talk of anyone being offended by Christmas celebrations. This story is one small sign of a civilization in decline, in surrender mode.
“Belgian Christmas Market is named Winter Market, because it ‘could offend other beliefs,’” Voice of Europe, October 29, 2018:
Organisers of the Christmas Market in the Belgian city of Brugge changed its name to Winter Market. The decision was made to not ‘offend other beliefs’, Belgian newspaper HLN reports.
The newspaper says that the Christmas lights on the market will be replaced by neutral winter lights. People and politicians are not amused about the changes.
Pol Van Den Driessche, a member of local opposition party N-VA, calls the decision ‘incomprehensible and unbelievable’.
“So we are not allowed to speak about a Christmas Market, but only of a Winter Market. This is not only a completely insane decision, it also goes against what we are.
Brugge has a wonderful and historic Christmas tradition and if you’re religious or not, this is part of our culture. I don’t want to appease to this sickening form of tolerance,” the politician said.
Some people replying to the article relate the decision to Islam. “Do we still live in Belgium? Our norms and values are eroding, our culture is disappearing and our feasts need other names. And we must respect their Ramadan and Sugar Feast, a man says.
The organiser of Brugge’s Winter Market, Pieter Vanderyse says he said the decision was made to make the market ‘more neutral’ for everybody….
CogitoErgoSum says
It’s pure evil to think that Christmas is not for everyone — but that Submission is.
Sun says
Very true. For some years now, many German Christmas Markets are renamed Winter Market or Light Market, because it ‘could offend other beliefs.
Roderick MacUalraig says
Smartly put.
gravenimage says
Belgium: Brugge Christmas Market renamed Winter Market; Christmas “could offend other beliefs”
…………………..
Sickening dhimmitude.
And Jews and Atheists have never complained about the Christmas market. What bs. Of course, this is bowing to Islam.
And when have Muslims ever gone to these markets–save to plot the murder of people there?
Austria: Muslim arrested for plotting jihad massacre at Christmas market”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/12/austria-muslim-arrested-for-plotting-jihad-massacre-at-christmas-market
“Germany: Six Muslim migrants arrested over plot for jihad massacre at Christmas market”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/11/germany-six-muslim-migrants-arrested-over-plot-for-jihad-massacre-at-christmas-market
Grimly, there are many more such stories.
Then there was the successful Jihad attack two years ago on the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz west of Berlin, where 11 people were murdered and 56 injured.
Savvy Kafir says
This really is a case of sickening dhimmitude, as you say, GI. I think this year, we should all make a point of saying a cheery “Merry Christmas!” to every Muslim we encounter.
To hell with them and their hair-trigger sensitivity! No one else in the world behaves this way. And they have NO right to call the shots in the civilized world. It’s time to start pushing back. Let them know that we have feelings and standards of our own — and they won’t be sacrificed for the sake of whiny, cry-baby Allah junkies.
Bindon Blood says
Until we get rid if the lefty spineless politicians nothing will change.
gravenimage says
+1
mortimer says
This isn’t a ‘Christmas’ market at all. It started as a celebration of ADVENT season, the four Sundays of fasting and self-examination leading up to Christmas.
Advent season lightens the fasting every Sunday. In many European countries ADVENT CALENDARS are sold which have chocolates for the children on Sunday which show them to fast during the week and FEAST on Sundays.
The Christian culture of Europe RUNS DEEP, but they are gradually ISLAMIZING EUROPE in order to prepare Europeans to have NO CULTURE at all but to PERFECTLY OPEN-MINDED to GLOBALIST BRAINWASHING.
Islam is merely a TOOL for DE-CHRISTIANIZING EUROPE.
DHIMMI DOPE FRANK is collaborating with the enemies of the Christian church.
gravenimage says
Mortimer, you are right that these markets are held during the Advent season, and that they often sell Advent calendars.
But many of these markets have been known as–and formally called–Christmas markets for centuries. The earliest Christmas market was held in the late 14th century in Germany.
Traditionally, besides Advent calendars and wreaths, these markets have also sold nativity scenes and figures and nutcrackers–some markets specialize in certain of these items–some are famous for them. They have also sold toys for Christmas gifts–and other items such as food and drink–again, many of them regionally famous.
Some also have other attractions like performances–sometimes of the nativity–and ice skating rinks.
I’ve written about Christmas Markets in my non-Jihad related work.
mortimer says
I thank you for your fine research in this matter.
gravenimage says
Thank you so much, Mortimer.
The famous holiday market in Salzburg is know both as the “Adventmärkt” (Advent Market) and “Christkindlmärkt” (Christ Child Market).
Wellington says
I second your praise of gravenimage and thank you too, mortimer. I knew nothing of this particular matter till I read the posts put forward by you two. Thank you both.
gravenimage says
Thank you, Wellington.
You can find this tradition in the United States, as well. There’s the Christkindlmarket in Chicago, which has a large population of German heritage.
I think the closest to your neck of the woods is in Philadelphia, which is also based on German Christmas markets–specifically in this case, the famous one in Nuremberg.
The market is opened by the Christkindl from Nuremberg.
I noted that this is the Christ child, but this figure went from being depicted as a little blond-haired child to a sort of Christmas angel, who is often played by a woman. She often brings gifts instead of Santa Claus in southern Germany–although Santa is more and more popular around the world.
There are also traditional-style Christmas markets in Denver, Florida, and New York City.
So far–as far as I know–none of the Christmas markets in the US have been threatened by Muslims yet. This could, of course, change at any time.
mortimer says
Agree with GI… it could change in the US. The MOST offensive Christian doctrine for Muslims is the INCARNATION. They would BLOW PEOPLE up to stop the worship of the little baby. They do so in Egypt ALL THE TIME !!!
Guess what? Do you think they won’t do it Western countries?
‘Good’ Muslims hate KAFIRS and KUFR (wrong worship) and they want to be CLEANSED (BARAA) from it.
AL WALAA WAL BARAA is an Islamic doctrine of HATE that you should all learn or …
… YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE MUSLIM MIND at all. Please learn it.
gravenimage says
Grimly true, Mortimer.
Roderick MacUalraig says
I second that.
Just reading about the Christmas markets that she described gets me in the spirit and makes me feel the gratitude for the tradition, and for the defenders of the tradition, of which there are many here.
It’s a very good feeling.
gravenimage says
Agreed, Roderick!
Bindon Blood says
Traditionally ,in England,the “Christmas Season”lasted from advent until 12th night. The feast of Christmas from Christmas Day until the 12th night,hence “the 12 days of Christmas” . 12 night itself was a celebration,with 12th night cake and other delicacies. The 12th night celebrates the coming of the Magi,or epiphany. This festival is defunct ,sadly, in England but was still alive in the mid 19th century.
gravenimage says
Some people still celebrate Epiphany–but you are right; it is not was widely celebrated as it once was. The Twelve Days of Christmas run from Christmas to Epiphany.
Frank Spence says
So can we get Ramadan renamed because it offends other faiths? The answer of course. Has to be no soap not to offend Islam!
katherine says
Ramadan and al-Eid offends me. They don’t sound like anything to do with Integration in European culture.
Right now why should the 5% dictate National holidays ?
Wellington says
Pathetic.
Indiana Tom says
Bloomington Indiana is way ahead of Brugge Belgium.
The city will be calling Columbus Day “Fall Holiday” and Good Friday “Spring Holiday.”
BTW about 90 percent thinks this sucks.
https://fox59.com/2016/11/19/bloomington-changes-names-of-two-city-holidays-to-better-reflect-cultural-sensitivity/
KWJ says
They’re sanitizing everything under the guise of cultural sensitivy which is ridiculous. In the process it’s making things boring and dull-minded. If people are concerned about cultural sensitivity then they might as well destroy ancient ruins, art, etc. that were all part of wars and depicting them. History erased and a lobotimized society.
Bindon Blood says
Well,don’t speak too soon. As Islam increases in strength many things which we take for granted will be taken away. Notice how the Pope covered the works of art in the Vatican when some Muslim dignitary came to call.
When Islam gains strength and control they won’t spend money protecting Cathedrals,churches or stately homes. Something people have not realized; Islam gives welfare only to its own,the infidel dhimmi has to fend for himself. When Islam gains control kiss goodbye to your state pension and other tax payer funded benefits; the dhimmi will have to fund their own .
pragmatist says
It won’t matter how many think it sucks – the minority will always take preference if it is on the left.
andra says
How long will it take untill we change the name of the Sugarfeast? This could offend my believe.
gravenimage says
I guess it could have been even worse–many places are just canceling Christmas Markets, either so as not to “offend” Muslims, or because they cannot afford the huge security costs of protecting them from Jihad attack:
“France: Lyon Christmas Market canceled, organizers couldn’t afford $23,800 for anti-jihad barriers”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/12/france-lyon-christmas-market-canceled-organizers-couldnt-afford-23800-for-anti-jihad-barriers
“Paris cancels Christmas market; holds special Ramadan party every year”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/11/paris-cancels-christmas-market-holds-special-ramadan-party-every-year
There are, grimly, many more of these stories in the past few years.
abad says
Belgium is not the best country for Moslems to be. They should be returned to their home nations where they will be much happier.
gravenimage says
They want to conquer us.
Nigel Leak says
Kick every fuckin muzzie out of Europe.
kuriakose says
Re Bruges’s Christian heritage::
During Bruges’ Golden Age, the 15th century, the fine arts prevailed. In the wake of the prestigious Burgundian dynasty, the great Flemish Primitives made a name for themselves. The world-renowned works of Jan Van Eyck, Hans Memling and those of other prominent Flemish Masters can be admired at the Groeninge Museum, St John’s Hospital, St Saviour’s Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady. Michelangelo’s world famous ‘Madonna and Child’ can also be found in the Church of Our Lady.
So what next? Close all these places or rename them?
Truly the EU leaders are agents of satan himself. Islam is one of their weapons towards a NWO.
gravenimage says
Thank you for your post, kuriakose. In art history I specialized in the northern Renaissance, including the work of Hans Memling and the Van Eycks. There is nothing primitive about this work (it was only characterized as such by a few who thought nothing could compete with the equally glorious Italian Renaissance). It is some of the loveliest art ever created.
Here is Jan Van Eyck’s Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, now in the Louvre:
https://res.cloudinary.com/emazecom/image/fetch/c_limit,a_ignore,w_440,h_360/https%3A%2F%2Fpersonalinterpretations.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F09%2Fjan-van-eyck-chancellor-rolin.jpg
And it is all under threat by the Muslims flooding into Belgium.
And here is Michelangelo’s sublime Bruges Madonna:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_of_Bruges#/media/File:Madonna_michelangelo.jpg
kuriakose says
Thanks, gravenimage. I simply love the art and music of Europe, especially the religious themed ones. Sublime is the only word I can use, and to think that these hate filled barbarians being let loose in Europe. I am reminded of Sauron unleashing his orcs.
gravenimage says
Very apt, kuriakose.
Fatts says
Belgium, Britain, Sweden, Germany, and practically every church you can find in western Europe, are all tripping over themselves in a race to see who will be the 1st to submit, completely, to islam.
These nations are on their way to becoming part of an islamic region, where their statehood would remain in name only.
Obadiah 1 – 16
For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain,
all the nations round about shall drink;
they shall drink, and stagger,[b]
and shall be as though they had not been.
Anjuli Pandavar says
Do they imagine that a Winter Market is less likely to get a truck ploughed through it than a Christmas Market? The name Christmas might have been erased but the Muslims are still there, amongst whom swim those intent on jihad (devout Muslims), and the market is still there, full of infidels. And if you shut down the Winter Markets, the infidels are still there, whether in pubs, in their homes, on trains, in Churches. “Kill them wherever you find them.” You can change the entire world and everything in it, but while this one little detail, the Qur’anic commandment to “Kill them wherever you find them” remains in place, that world will be attacked, no matter how inoffensive you imagine you’ve made it.
People who make such concessions to avoid offending Muslims do not realise that it is not just such details that offend Muslims. Everything about them offends Muslims. Their very existence offends Muslims. If you really don’t want to offend Muslims, then the answer is obvious.
gravenimage says
Good post, Anjuli. Muslims will still realize this market will be full of Infidels buying Christmas gifts.
Rolf Wittwer says
Better this amputated Brügge-“Christmas-Market” should be cancelled and held sometimes February/March, without any relation to our over 2000 years old Religion.
Because Winter ends always at 21th of March, no need of any X-mas decoration and celebration anywhere. Ban all our traditional holydays and give selfish Islam more possibilities to destroy, kill and replace our culture by psychological terror, hate, intolerance,fanatism, mendacity, lies, violence, falsity, meanness and other inhuman behaviour.
These lines had to be written because European politics is on a suicidal road/mission to the final solution.
rick oneil says
If its neutral to everyone then it means nothing to anyone
Save Europe says
I have to travel to the Benelux region frequently, and have been to Bruges on numerous occasions. It truly is a beautiful city, aesthetically, and unlike both Antwerp and Brussels isn’t whatsoever Islamised, due to the fact it’s a rich city. This news is both deeply saddening and disturbing.
infidel says
So will these Koranimals change the name of their EID fairs or Ramzan fairs because it AFFECTS KHAFIR sensibilities too..SHAME ON THE BELGIAN AUTHORITIES
Jayell says
We’ve been doing the ‘multi-cultural thing’ for centuries in the UK at least with references to ‘Yule’ and ‘Yuletide’, which relates to the pre-Christian ‘Winter Solstice’ festival. The well-known carol ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ combines Christrian and Pagan imagery, and that’s been sung in and out of churches for centuries So why drag in new terminology when we’ve already got comprehensive cultural coverage that’s actually relevant to the region and the people, and without upsetting anyone? Now, which people might be ‘offended’ by the ‘Christmas’? Might they be the same people who would probably be criminally-offended if we went carol-singing round Mecca? That would be ironic, since these same people are causing daily criminal offence in our neck of the woods and not only never apologise but proclaim that they think that they’ve got some right to be offensive as, when, and how they please. By the way, as we all know, we shouldn’t be celebrating Christ’s birth in December anyway, because I’ve heard the theories go that he was actually born in April or September. Now, we can’t change that, can we, because that might mean Christmas comes at the same time as Ramadan. Which means that that the vast majority in the West might be having a good time and gorging themselves whilst muslims are supposed to be fasting; and, as we already know, certain politically-correct businesses ban all their staff from having the sheer temerity to consume food in the office during Ramadan because it mortally offends any muslims present. In fact, let’s go the whole hog (ouch!) and throw our entire calendar out of the window and change to the islamic one to please ‘certain minorities’, because that will only offend the vast majority around these parts, and they obviously don’t matter.
Bindon Blood says
We can celebrate Christ’s Mass at any time. Christmas celebrates Christ’s birth ,coming into the world,not His birth day. The Yule tide was around the 25 th December so the the Early church decided to use this familiar festival to celebrate the birth of Christ.
SamB says
So, Ramadan and hijabs and niqabs and loud hailing mosques does not offend? How low can you stoop?
Islamic populace into the West is an invasion for economic reasons. But, recently the understanding is that it is a da’waistic device. We cannot confound the empirical results though that some are running away from Islamic oppression and others are there (in the West) to foment trouble. Yet, the Belgians in all their wrong rationalism suggests otherwise; that Islam cannot be offended. what about the countless other worldviews that have successfully integrated and are anonymously living their new found space. The evidence is clear, Islam wants to dismantle all other worldviews because its scriptures say so…and Western scholars on the pay books of Islam prop-up this fabrication
Phil Copson says
Everyone in Britain concerned about the wiping-out of Christmas, should boycott Tesco’s supermarkets; last year, I could find absolutely nothing in their range of “Christmas” goods with any Christian imagery on it whatsoever.
(Hint – fir-trees, snow-scenes, Father Christmas, robins etc, have no connection with Christianity.)
gravenimage says
Phil, at least they are still saying “Merry Christmas”:
https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article8226957.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/tesco-mince-pies-1.jpg
Many shops have dropped it entirely.
Sebec Goj says
i hope we will be allowed to have 4 wives soon.
gravenimage says
You can just convert now and move to Dar-al-Islam if you are so eager to “marry” children.
J.W.K. says
Hundeeds of years of beautiful EUROPEAN TRADITIONS down the tube.
Salaami to all from the religion of peace don’t make me laugh!!
TWG says
I’m offended.
Those infidels advancing this nightmare deserve to be treated exactly how the quran says they should be treated. I will shed no tear for any of them once the rape, torture and beheadings begin. They hate Christianity and Love islam, let them rot in it. They’re INTENTIONALLY replacing Christianity with the horrors of islam.
I sure do hope I’m not the only one taking names and keeping track. They need to pay for what they’ve done to humanity.
Marina says
Shame on you Belgium
Hudson says
What’s wrong with these people? They rape their women, attack their citizens, and yet they still do foolish things like this to please them. Wake the “F” up!
European pagan says
I am so sad. I don’t believe in Jesus or the Bible, but Christmas is a part of the european tradition. I’m asking now, what is the next bullsh*t? Europe is OUR home!!!!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN. I celebrate it, maybe next year it will be forbidden too.
gravenimage says
Happy Halloween to you, to, European Pagan–and to all here who enjoy celebrating it!