destructionThe happiest Christmas village in the Netherlands is plunged into mourning. Vandals destroyed a life-size nativity scene in Leeuwarden last night, the showpiece of this year. The two reindeer and other decorations have been demolished. Local residents are stunned.
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“I am now standing with a reindeer head in my hand,” says Angela Vlig-Mebius, one of the initiators of the Christmas village, cynically. “A complete stranger glued the antlers together and just returned them. My husband is now trying to make the legs.”
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The annual Christmas village in the Wielenpôlle district, where 240 homes and caravans are cheerfully decorated, has become a household name throughout the Netherlands. People come from far outside Leeuwarden to Wielenpôlle for the festive Christmas route through the district.
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It’s busy again this evening. According to Vlig-Mebius, hundreds of cars are already driving through the neighborhood and hundreds are still waiting. Outside the district there are professional traffic controllers, in Wielenpôlle itself the residents ensure that everything runs smoothly. This year there is also a walking route through the district for visitors.
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Ten pieces
The life-size nativity scene is the main attraction this year. For the first time, there are two life-size reindeer dolls and a sleigh. They haven’t even been there for a week. When Vlig-Mebius stepped out of the door of her house, opposite the stable, this morning, she saw the reindeer lying on the ground. “The legs were literally kicked off and the antlers were broken into ten pieces. The ground dropped from under my feet.”
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Only the statues of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus in the manger have been spared, because Mebius takes them inside every evening as a precaution. Vlig-Mebius: ,,We paid a considerable amount for the reindeer and sleigh, our newest showpieces this year. I think we have almost 2000 euros in damage. What we worked hard to build seven days a week, was razed to the ground overnight.”
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Wielenpôlle has been busy with the Christmas village for months. Residents and volunteers started preparations in September, it has been unofficially open since the beginning of December. Last year, the Christmas village of Wielenpôlle was visited by viewers of the SBS program Heart of the Netherlands still voted the ‘most beautifully lit Christmas street in the Netherlands’.
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Camera’s
At that time, lighting was already destroyed in the Christmas village. Also this year the nets with lights in the street have already been broken once. This has been restored thanks to a crowdfunding campaign.
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Vlig-Mebius has now reported vandalism. A camera is attached to her house that is aimed at the nativity scene. Other residents in the area also have security cameras. “But we have no picture of the perpetrators.” The police will patrol the area after 11 p.m. in the evening.
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The reindeer will be repaired and returned as soon as possible. Messages of support are pouring in from all over the country and help is offered. But the local residents do not want to accept money. “We want to pay for everything ourselves as much as possible. The traditional collection continues to be intended for the Food Bank,” says Vlig-Mebius.
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,,I doubt whether I want to organize this next year. But we’ll just finish this year, because otherwise we would disappoint a lot of people. And we do it for them.”
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