For yet another year, vandals have targeted the Christmas nativity scene at Brussels’ Grand Place, stealing the head of the baby Jesus figurine.
For several years, the baby Jesus figure in the Grand Place nativity scene in Brussels has been repeatedly targeted by vandals. This year, unknown perpetrators removed the head of the figurine in the early hours between the 28th and 29th of November, continuing a pattern of thefts and vandalism that has affected the display in previous years.
Past incidents include the complete disappearance of the baby Jesus figure in 2017, the removal of the Christ Child’s head during a protest in 2014, and vandalism by a group of youths in 2015, which involved theft, damage to trees, and destruction of part of the roof structure of the scene. Authorities have now replaced the stolen head and are keeping a closer watch on the nativity display to prevent further attacks.
“What is intolerable is that people attack the work of an artist to damage it and to turn it into a kind of pointless controversy that ridicules Brussels,” said Francis De Laveleye, a Brussels resident.