Took my kids to the Christmas market in Hamburg today First thing I did was walk them around the perimeter I explained each concrete barrier, each bollard and armed guard My daughter asked why there are so many policemen at a Christmas market "Honey, Germany is a welcoming country, and welcoming countries need protection from people they welcome" She nodded and asked "but why the lights are so dark?" I explained Christmas lights are reduced by 80% this year to hit EU carbon neutrality targets "Daddy, but the tree is also very small, is there a bigger one somewhere?" What an annoying kid. I remained calm though "Baby, that's sustainable forestry. The tree is just the right size" My wife said quietly that maybe we could visit a market in Switzerland next year I clenched my fist and told her that Switzerland isn't in the EU, their lights are against the Paris Climate Agreement, and she should think before she speaks I love my family but it’s not easy to stay composed when they try to ignore core European values