BERLIN, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- German President Joachim Gauck called for more openness and tolerance towards refugees in his annual Christmas speech on Tuesday.
"There are many reasons why people leave their home: war, hunger, persecution and hardship," Gauck said. "Let us not close our hearts (because we realize) we can't take in everyone who comes to our country."
Germany agreed to grant asylum to some 10,000 refugees from war-ravaged Syria this year, according to media reports.
Gauck's speech with a focus on the plight of refugees was also influenced by a series of boat accidents off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa this year in which hundreds of African immigrants died.
The head of state asked German citizens to consider whether they were doing enough to help the refugees and called on them to remember those distressed people.
In his address, Gauck also paid tribute to volunteers for their import work, particularly those who helped in the heavy flooding this summer which swept across eastern Germany and caused widespread damage in the region.
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