Multiculturalism has led to a change in the way traditional Christmas celebrations are perceived and experienced within families.
The festive spirit of Melbourne’s iconic Carols by Candlelight was briefly interrupted when a group of pro-Palestine/pro-Hamas demonstrators took to the stage during the live broadcast, raising their voices in protest against the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The event, which has run for 86 years, serves as a cherished prelude to Christmas day and raises funds for Vision Australia, supporting children with low or no vision.
Around 8:15 pm on Christmas Eve, a sudden interruption occurred at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Activists carrying Palestinian flags took over the stage, creating a disturbance as they took control of the microphone to voice their message to the thousands of attendees, 9News reported.
The children on stage were quickly guided off to safety following an unexpected interruption by Jew-haters and Hamas apologists carrying Palestinian flags.
During the disruption at the event, an activist’s voice rang out, saying, “While you’re carolling, kids are dying in Gaza,” before being quickly silenced as her microphone was cut off.
This prompted the event’s hosts, David Campbell and Sarah Abo, to immediately address the audience.
“Everybody relax, settle down. Everyone’s allowed to have their – they’re allowed to have their moment, to have their time in the sun,” Campbell said.
“But we did have kids here. So we want to make sure those kids are safe. They’re going to come back out in a second. It is a very hard time in this world. It’s a hard time, for us all to come together on a night like this too,” he added.
The audience reacted to the activists’ intrusion with a mix of boos and unease. The security team acted swiftly to escort the protesters from the stage, which allowed the event to proceed as planned.
WATCH:
Free Palestine Activists at #carolsbycandlelight in Melbourne pic.twitter.com/8gCyKgW2Xz
— Jessica Westcott (@JessicaWestcot8) December 24, 2023
Following the incident at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, social media reactions were varied and intense.
One comment read: “Socialists should be removed from the government and expelled from the country. Immigrants are starting to rule a country that is not their own? Immigrants will tell us what our country,our homeland should be like? They are the ones who are supposed to adapt to us and not us to them.”
Another wrote, “This is the holiday you don’t mess with. I’m not religious, but messing with Christmas is a line that should not be crossed!… [My view of Christmas] consists of the ideas of appreciating and loving my family and friends. That’s it. The victors write the history, so we’ll just have to wait and see who’s becoming the content of the history books of tomorrow. Merry Christmas!”
Another said, “And people thought they just hated Jews.”
Another wrote, “All government sponsored. If they wanted it to stop, it would stop overnight.”
“Yeah, let’s scare the kids performing on stage. What a bunch of morons,” another wrote.
