For the ninth year in a row, Christianne and Ad de Beer have set up a nativity scene for their café Het Chaamse Wapen. This time for the first time with a collection box, so you can buy some new statues. But on Monday night, the van filled with generous gifts was stolen by a group of thieves. “This makes you so angry.”
The bad news came early Tuesday morning, Christianne says. “Every night we close the crib in an orderly manner. My husband Ad then reopens it in the morning. But when he came to the barn this morning, he saw that thieves had broken in.”
At first glance, the damage seemed minor. “All the dolls were still there. Only one thing was missing: the collection box.” How big the loot is, will forever remain a mystery. “The van had been there for a few weeks from Sinterklaas. Coincidentally, we tried to empty it on Monday evening, but we couldn’t get the lid off. Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t know how much was in it.”
“Now I have to tell the volunteers this bad news.”
It still hurts, with the proud owners of the barn. “We wanted to buy some real statues from the proceeds for next year. It’s better than dressed mannequins.” So it doesn’t seem to be going that far at the moment. “Damn, you think. Stay away from all this.”
Will there be a new collection van in the next few days? “We’re thinking about it. We maintain the nativity scene with a group of volunteers. With that we would take a tour on Wednesday along some other stalls in the region. Get inspired, add a mulled wine. And now I have to tell them this bad news. Of course you don’t want it.
It’s not the first sad theft during the holiday season. On Christmas Eve, the collection box of organist Thijs Haenen already stolen in Eindhoven. A cyclist tore the copper bus with a lot of emotional value from the organ while riding.
