Lots of music, no sermon, but a chat. After two years of absence, the Christmas meeting for unbelievers is back at the Koopmansplein in Assen.
Around eleven o’clock in the morning, the first people trickle into the tent next to the skating rink on Koopmansplein. Some staff are already preparing things for visitors who arrive later in the day. A little further on, city chaplain Bert Altena is preparing. He organizes the Christmas meeting for people who are not religious.
“Everyone deserves a beautiful Christmas, even if you are not religious,” he says. Altena mainly wants to create a connection between people. “Occasionally I tell something, it’s really not a long sermon. It shouldn’t get too serious either.”
The band Opa’s Kunstgebit therefore provides some light-hearted intermezzos. “After each short chat, they play a song. That also makes it a lot more fun,” says Altena.
According to the city preacher, Christmas is a party to break through cubicles and bubbles. “It’s a celebration of connection,” Altena continues. “Whether you are religious or not, everyone can experience Christmas in their own way. I hope to give that message today.”
A woman attending the meeting agrees. “I can fully stand behind that message.” Her neighbor, a few seats away, is attending a Christmas gathering for the first time. “I came across it because a friend of mine is also here. So I thought: I’ll just take this along.”
The city preacher is especially happy that it can all continue again after two years of corona. “It’s nice that we can celebrate Christmas in a normal way again. Both in the church and here in this place.” Altena doesn’t really care how many people there have been in the end. “It’s about the thought. I’m already looking forward to next year.”