Campaigners in Austria claim the jolly bearded man who brings presents and joy to children around the world is an invention of Coca Cola and synonymous with gaudy commercialism. They claim Father Christmas should be ditched in favour of the more traditional Christkind, or "Christ-child", a tiny blond baby who brings a candle-lit tree and gifts to children before dinner on Christmas Eve, heralded by the tinkling of a bell.
The nine-year-old movement kicked off its annual campaign with a protest in Graz on Saturday night and is planning to begin a scheme to certify shops with decorations meeting its standards.
The Pro-Christkind group will withhold its seal of approval from any shops displaying reindeer, sleighs or any of Father Christmas's associates. "Shopkeepers ask us what they should have instead of a Santa? We recommend they have angels or shepherds. We prefer shepherds to angels," says Christoph Tschaikner, leader of the Pro-Christkind movement.
Roughly one hundred joined the Graz rally on Saturday night, filing between the mulled wine and roast chestnut stalls of the old city to the steady beat of a drum to form a star on the city's main bridge. Similar events are scheduled to take place in Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna. "It's not against Santa. He is good for the British and Americans but he is not good for us," said Walter Kriwetz, organiser of the candle-lit procession in Austria's second city.
But not everyone agrees. Sandro Galik, a 35-year-old from Vienna, would prefer Austrians to embrace Father Christmas. "I don't think Christkind is any less materialistic than Santa. It is still about presents, after all. And Santa brings people together. Children can believe in him whatever their background."
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