An Islamist party in Pakistan called for the expulsion of the Dutch ambassador on Wednesday as it launched a protest against a far-right Dutch politician’s plan for a cartoon competition featuring caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.

Several thousand activists gathered in the eastern city of Lahore for the demonstration organised by Tehreek-e-Labbaik, a party that amassed the fifth largest number of votes in a general election last month having campaigned as a defender of the laws and punishments for crimes of blasphemy.

Party leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi set out from Lahore’s historic centre at the head of a protest he aims to take through the towns of Punjab province to the capital Islamabad, where protesters will stage a sit-in to pressure Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan to cut diplomatic ties with the Netherlands.

“The Dutch ambassador should be immediately deported,” Labbaik spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told Reuters. “We will only stop when the government meets this demand.”

Pakistan has already complained to the Dutch government about far-right parliamentarian Geert Wilders’ plans for a cartoon contest that will upset and provoke Muslims.

Wilders intends to display the cartoons on the walls of his political party’s room in parliament. He says he’s had “hundreds” of entries.

“The Foreign Office called the chargé d’affaires of the Netherlands and issued him a Demarche’ to record a protest,” the Pakistani prime minister’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said last week that the cartoon competition “was not something I would do” and his government was not associated with it.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he planned to take up the issue with the United Nations and several world leaders.

“They don’t understand how much they hurt us when they do such acts,” Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, said on Tuesday, a day after the upper house of parliament condemned the proposed cartoon competition.

Officials from the Punjab provincial government met with Labbaik leaders in Lahore in a vain attempt to persuade them to call off their protest.

“We told them to stop the protests because the Pakistan government is taking up the issue effectively,” an official involved on the talks told Reuters, adding that Labbaik representatives insisted the protest would only end once the Dutch envoy was expelled.

Last year, in a stand-off with the previous government, Labbaik shut down a main highway leading into Islamabad for nearly three weeks over a small change in wording to an electoral law changing a religious oath to a simple declaration. Labbaik said the change amounted to blasphemy.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was forced to accept the resignation of law minister Zahid Hamid, who Labbaik held responsible for the change, after seven people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in a failed attempt by police to disperse protesters.

Turkey told the Netherlands on Sunday that it would retaliate in the “harshest ways” after Turkish ministers were barred from speaking in Rotterdam, as a row over Ankara’s political campaigning among Turkish immigrants escalated.

President Tayyip Erdogan said “Nazism is still widespread in the West” after the Netherlands joined other European countries worried about political tensions inside Turkey spilling beyond its borders that have prevented Turkish politicians from holding rallies.

The Dutch government on Saturday first barred Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from flying to Rotterdam and later stopped Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish consulate in the port city, before escorting her out of the country to Germany.

Dutch police used dogs and water cannon early on Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters waving Turkish flags outside the consulate in Rotterdam. Some threw bottles and stones and several demonstrators were beaten by police with batons, a Reuters witness said. Officers carried out charges on horseback.

The Dutch government, which is set to lose about half its seats in elections this week as the anti-Islam party of Geert Wilders makes strong gains, said the ministers’ visits were undesirable and it would not cooperate in their political campaigning in the Netherlands.

“If you can sacrifice Turkish-Dutch relations for an election on Wednesday, you will pay the price,” Erdogan said in a speech at an awards ceremony in Istanbul.

“I thought Nazism was dead, but I was wrong. Nazism is still widespread in the West,” he said. “The West has shown its true face.”

Speaking to reporters before a public appearance in the northeastern French city of Metz, Cavusoglu said Turkey would continue to act against the Netherlands until it apologises.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he would do everything to “de-escalate” the confrontation, which he described as the worst the Netherlands had experienced in years.

But he said the idea of apologising was “bizarre”.

“This is a man who yesterday made us out for fascists and a country of Nazis. I’m going to de-escalate, but not by offering apologies. Are you nuts?” he told a morning talk show.

In a statement issued early on Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey would retaliate in the “harshest ways”.

Protesters also gathered outside the Dutch embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul, throwing eggs and stones at the buildings.

WILDERS: “GO AWAY”

Supporting Rutte’s decision to ban the visits, the Dutch government said there was a risk of Turkish political divisions flowing over into its own Turkish minority, which has both pro- and anti-Erdogan camps.

It cited public order and security worries in withdrawing landing rights for Cavusoglu’s flight.

Turkey fired back saying the Dutch ambassador to Ankara should not return from leave “for some time”.

Erdogan is looking to the large number of Turks living in Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, to help secure victory next month in a referendum that would give the presidency sweeping new powers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will do all she can to prevent Turkey’s domestic tensions spreading onto German territory. Austria and Switzerland have also cancelled Turkish rallies due to the escalating dispute.

A senior member of her conservative bloc in parliament, Hans Michelbach, demanded on Sunday that the EU stop aid to Turkey and ruled out any hopes that it would join the EU.

“There is no prospect of entry in the long run. Turkey is getting further and further away from the European Union. Support programmes (that it gets as an EU candidate) are therefore a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said in a statement.

“It is time that the EU stops performing like a diplomatic paper tiger towards Ankara. Europe must not be led by the nose round the Turkish election arena.”

The diplomatic row comes in the run-up to the coming week’s Dutch election in which the mainstream parties are under strong pressure from the far-right party of Geert Wilders.

After Kaya, the Turkish family minister, was escorted out of the country, Wilders told her on Twitter “go away and never come back”.

Erdogan’s spokesman responded by saying the Netherlands had bowed to anti-Islam sentiment.

“Shame on the Dutch government for succumbing to anti-Islam racists and fascists, and damaging long-standing Turkey-NL relations,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter.

In a sign the row could spread further, the owner of a venue in Sweden where a senior official from Turkey’s ruling party had been due to hold a rally on Sunday cancelled the rental contract, Turkey’s private Dogan news agency reported.

The news agency said the owner had not given a reason for their decision.

Cavusoglu also decided against travelling to Zurich, Switzerland, for an event on Sunday after failing to find a suitable venue. Zurich’s security authorities had unsuccessfully lobbied the federal government in Bern to ban Cavusoglu’s appearance.

Netherlands

The festivities begin with the arrival of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) on a boat from Spain. History alludes to a Catholic priest in fourth-century Myra – in modern Turkey. Under protestant rule, celebrations of Sinterklaas moved from the public into the private sphere.

Jan Schenkman’s 1850 novel ‘Saint Nicholas and his Servant‘ popularised many modern Sinterklaas traditions. Schenkman’s writings reflected the culture – Sinterklaas interrogated children about their behaviour and religious knowledge. Rewards came in the shape of gifts and food. Naughty children were sometimes carried away by the servant in a large sack.

One of the most controversial legacies involves Zwarte Piet or ‘Black Pete’ – a character who accompanies Sinterklass. White people put on blackface makeup, with exaggerated lips, curly wigs and costumes. The United Nations has called on the Netherlands to ditch Black Pete due to its racist and negative stereotyping. In recent years, the anti-racist response to Black Pete has received more mainstream attention.

Jerusalem

Christians account for less than 2 per cent of the population in Jerusalem. For many in the city, Christmas is just another day in the city. Christmas Day falls on the Sabbath so individuals will be off regardless.

In some parts of Jerusalem, you will find Christmas trees on display. At the New Gate to the Christian Quarter of the Old City they lit up a Christmas tree opposite Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center.

The far-right Lehava demonstrated at the front of Jerusalem’s YMCA building to protest an event inside in which they claimed Jewish children were decorating Christmas trees.

On December 21, Santa Claus helped residents select Christmas trees distributed by city hall.

When it comes to Christmas Day, individuals, of all faiths can enjoy services in multiple languages. From Jerusalem, pilgrims make the short walk to Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank.

Bethlehem

The violence that grips Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories harmed Bethlehem’s tourism trade. Hotel bookings have not hit the 40 or 50 per cent mark. In 2014, hotels had sold out. Decorations will not extend to entire downtown district. Authorities will only decorate Manger Square and two nearby streets.

Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun has also accused Israel of taking more land to complete the separation wall at Bethlehem’s perimeter. Patriarch Emeritus Michael Sabbah, who was the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem between 1987 and 2008, wrote a critical article about the situation in Bethlehem for Haaretz.

Some Palestinians decorated an olive tree with tear gas canisters and grenades near the Church of Nativity.

Israeli authorities issued 600 travel visas for Christians in the Gaza strip. Yet there are age restrictions so younger families miss out. There is an estimated 3,000 (or more) Christians in this area and around 300 or so Catholics, compared to about 1.4 million Muslims that live in the Gaza strip.

For those able to attend – there’s a carnival atmosphere at central Manger Square. Vendors sell sweets, watches, and balloons. Scout troops play bagpipes and drums.

Iceland

In Iceland, a historic tradition involves the giving of books. This tradition has its own name ‘Jólabókaflóð’ or the ‘Christmas Book Flood’.

Individuals exchange gifts on Christmas Eve and spend the evening reading books.

According to Hildur Knútsdóttir, the tradition dates back to World War II. War affected Iceland’s ability to import goods outside of paper. So the book became a viable gift.

For gifts, relatives receive hardcover editions as individuals tend to buy paperbacks for themselves. So bookstores ensure they are well stocked with hardcover books before December.

Iceland also prints more books per capita than any other nation.

Mexico

In the southwestern city of Oaxaca, individuals partake in a number of traditions. One tradition concerns the procession that re-enacts Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter. They are received at a pre-arranged where the godparents (padrionos) of that posada welcome the pilgrims with songs and blessings.

The Noche de Rábanos (Night of the Radishes) begins on December 23. Farmers arrive and make elaborate sculptures of kings and nativity scenes from the vegetables. Winners of this competition are greeted with fireworks.

On Christmas Eve, residents will gather statues of Jesus Christ from godmothers, who then donate them to local parishes. Beyond celebrations, they return to celebrate the Misa de Gallo (Mass of the Rooster) – the first celebration meal before Christmas.

The tradition of plate smashing continues until December 31.

The post How is Christmas celebrated in other parts of the world? appeared first on Religious Reader.