How the Nazis reinvented Christmas and cast the Führer as the Messiah
A Yuletide fir tree decorated with sparkling swastikas, apple- cheeked children in uniform eager to bake SS insignia-shaped cakes for the whole family, and festive Germanic candlesticks hand-crafted in a concentration camp – such were the dubious delights of Christmas under Nazi rule.
The Nazification of Christmas did not end there. The Christmas tree crib was replaced by a Christmas garden containing wooden toy deer and rabbits. Mary and Jesus became the Germanic mother and child, while dozens of Christmas carols, including the famous German hymn “Silent Night”, were rewritten with all references to God, Christ and religion expunged. At the height of the anti-Christian campaign, an attempt was made to replace the coming of Christ the Saviour with the coming of Adolf Hitler – the “Saviour Führer.”
I saved this to read later and to save for Christmas, when all the naysaying about the holiday starts. Thanks!