Volunteers have organised Christmas celebrations for refugee children at shelters around Germany. The idea is to give the kids presents and familiarise them with German culture. As most of the children are Muslim, Christmas is outside of their faith, but most are overjoyed to be part of local traditions.
Two-year old twins Hevedar and Heve of Iraq pose in front of a Christmas tree at a refugee shelter in an evangelic church in Oberhausen, GermanyIna Fassbender/ReutersFour-year-old Syrian girl Nabile wears a Santa hat and beard as she receives a gift from a volunteer dressed as Father Christmas at a former US army barracks used as a refugee camp in Hanau, GermanyKai Pfaffenbach/ReutersTwo Syrian men dressed as Santa Claus prepare themselves at a shelter for migrants and refugees in SarstedtAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesA Syrian migrant dresses as Santa Claus at a shelter for migrants and refugees in SarstedtAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesA Syrian man dressed as Santa Claus greets children at a shelter for migrants and refugees in Sarstedt, GermanyAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesChildren from Syria and Afghanistan stare at a volunteer dressed as Santa Claus at a shelter for migrants and refugees in SarstedtAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesRefugee children hug a Syrian man dressed as Santa Claus at a shelter for migrants and refugees in Sarstedt, GermanyAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesA Syrian girl holds a present given to her by a volunteer dressed as Santa Claus at a shelter for migrants and refugeesAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesTwo small boys watch other children unwrap their presents at a shelter in SarstedtAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesA Syrian girl opens a present given to her by a volunteer dressed as Santa Claus at a shelter for migrants and refugees in SarstedtAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesAn Afghan girl smiles while unwrapping presentsAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesAn Afghan boy watches other children unwrapping presents given to them by a volunteer dressed as Santa ClausAlexander Koerner/Getty ImagesSulaiman Touba, 16, from Syria and his cousin Ali Khalil, 20, decorate a Christmas tree in their room at a refugee camp in Eichenau near MunichMichaela Rehle/ReutersA volunteer dressed in a Santa suit distributes gifts to children as they arrive at the Schoenefeld train station near BerlinJohn MacDougall/AFPVolunteers of the Train for Hope association, which takes care of welcoming refugees at Schoenefeld train station near Berlin, sort through donated clothing items,prior to the arrival of a special train carrying some 200 asylum seekersJohn MacDougall/AFPChildren help themselves to gifts made available to them through donations as some 200 asylum seekers arrive by train at the Schoenefeld train stationJohn MacDougall/AFPClose-up of a badge reading "Refugees Welcome" worn by a volunteer of the Train for Hope associationJohn MacDougall/AFPRefugee children sing the traditional German carol "Oh Christmas Tree" at a camp in HanauKai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Not all asylum seekers are having a happy Christmas, though. The majority of the nearly one million migrants who have registered for asylum in Germany so far this year are still stuck in overcrowded reception centres, waiting to have their requests processed.
Meanwhile, the mood of may people in Germanyn toward the migrants has changed from a spirit of welcome to a more hostile attitude. Several asylum shelters under construction have been vandalised or burned, and those in operation have also been attacked.
