A controversy over a Christmas tree outside a daycare center in Hamburg has sparked a legal battle with plant shop owner Florian Schröder appealing a €3,000 fine imposed for placing the festive decoration on the daycare’s property against their wishes.
The incident dates back to December 2023, when Schröder, owner of an online plant shop decided to install a decorated Christmas tree in front of the Mobi daycare center in Hamburg-Lokstedt. His intention, he said, was to spread Christmas cheer for the children.
However, the daycare, which belongs to the Finkenau Kindergarten Foundation, had already decided not to have a Christmas tree, citing a desire to respect religious freedom and avoid excluding any children based on their faith.
“We as a team decided against it because we don’t want to exclude any child and their faith — in the spirit of religious freedom,” its management told unhappy parents in an email at the time.
The foundation filed a criminal complaint against Schröder, who was found by a court to have trespassed onto the daycare center’s property to install the tree. He was consequently fined €3,000 and ordered to remove the tree.
“[He] illegally entered someone else’s pacified property in order to put up a Christmas tree there, knowing that the daycare management had deliberately not put one up and would not approve of entering or putting it up,” read a judgment by the Hamburg district court at the time.
Schröder has now lodged an appeal against the judgment.
“We wanted to make children happy at Christmas time — and that’s why we’re back in court. For us, a Christmas tree and shining children’s eyes are not a crime, but a sign of hope,” he told Bild, adding that a daycare center should not have anything against putting up a Christmas tree at Christmas.
The case has reignited debates over inclusivity and the preservation of cultural traditions in public spaces.
Last year in neighboring Austria, the management of a preschool in Plainfeld, Salzburg, uninvited Santa Claus from its annual scheduled visit to see the children citing cultural differences.
The management of a preschool in Austria has uninvited Santa Claus from his annual scheduled visit to see the children citing cultural differences.
“The management claimed diversity and cultural differences as well as some children being afraid of the figure,” the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper wrote at the time.
Last month, another Austrian kindergarten replaced the beloved 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 customary lantern parade honoring St. Martin, the St. Pölten kindergarten featured a “moon bear” character to promote themes of sharing and empathy.
