How the Nazis Stole Christmas

Spiegel Online international ^ | 11/13/2009 | David Gordon Smith

[jmcenanly]

Swastika Christmas tree ornaments, "Germanic" cookies and made-up traditions: A new exhibition highlights how the Nazis tried to take Christ out of Christmas. But their attempts to hijack a festival that began with the birth of a Jewish child weren't entirely successful.

[jmcenanly]

Apparently, trying to take Christ out of Christmas is not all that new.Consider all the 'Winter Festivals' that will be taking place next month, as well as the 'Solstice trees' and carols.

[allmendream]

Most Yuletide traditions are holdovers from European pre-Christian pagan festivals past.

An Evergreen tree? A Yule Log? Mistletoe. Decking the halls with boughs of Holly? Sleigh bells ringing? Doesn't bring to mind the birth of Christ in the Middle East (most likely in the spring) to me.

[ConfusedAndLovingIt]

Christians stole Christmas from the pagans.

[Little Ray]

Don’t forget the date of Christmas was chosen to frustrate Mithras worshipers.

That said, such things are simply further examples of the triumph of the Church and Christ.

[chrisser]

"And many of the myths that the Nazis invented are still circulating. "You can still read in places about how Christmas is really an ancient Germanic festival of the winter solstice," Breuer says, pointing out that there is little evidence of any such celebration. "

I guess it must have been the French pagans.

[Joe 6-pack]

Some Germans I know are adamant about observing Christmas...

...something about "shepherds keeping watch," and all that ;-)

[fso301]

bump for later

[ktscarlett66]

Ohhhh, beautiful! Yours?

[Joe 6-pack]

Yes...unfortunately the larger of the two passed on in the Summer of ‘07.

[chopperman]

Lets not ignore what the leftists are doing to Christmas today. Happy Holidays!

[dog breath]

Winter solstice festivals predate Christianity as do many of the fun aspects of Christmas. It takes no great effort to leave Christ out of Christmas. My son had all sorts of ornaments growing up that had nothing to do with Christianity and neither did the tree we put them on.

[Tamar1973]

Christians stole Christmas from the pagans.

Yep. Don't whine when you steal something from someone and then it gets stolen from you. Sounds like karma.

[kaboom]

[Shimmer1]

THAT is a good one. kudos for that one. LOL!

[rsobin]

If you are truly offended by the removal of Christ from
Christmas then complain to the person who say “happy holidays”. We all need to complain to the management of the firms who require “happy holidays” of their employees.

[Marie2]

How are Europeans supposed to decorate? Bring in sand and palm trees?

Of course they decorate with stuff native to their landscape. Grinch!

Speaking of whom, the Whos of Whoville had a perfectly nice Christmas even after the Grinch took all their European trees and ornaments.

Christians are going to celebrate no matter what anybody does. So we don’t know the proper date. We picked one. It’s the best holiday ever.

[Marie2]

“Christians stole Christmas from the pagans.”

Nope. God owns everything.

[allmendream]

Decorate traditionally! Just don't suppose that it is anything more than a European tradition when you deck the halls with boughs of holly, hang mistletoe, and put up an evergreen tree.

The significance of those plants is NOT just that they are native to the European landscape, they represent life amid the barrenness of winter. To we Christians they can represent the fullness of life with Christ, that never withers with the seasons of the Earth, but is eternal; but that wasn't their original symbology.

I love Christmas, but the attempts to claim that most holiday observances traditionally have anything to do with Christ are in error.

Early Christians appropriated the fun and festive things from their society, but those fun and festive things are not, in and of themselves, Christian; so if secularists want the fun and festivity of “Yule” without Christ, that is to the loss of their eternal soul, but hardly a “YOU ARE STEALING OUR HOLIDAY!”

[Tamar1973]

So we don’t know the proper date.

I'd say there might be a reason for that. God didn't want us celebrating Jesus' birthday. If it was that important, we'd know the real date.

[Marie2]

“God didn’t want us celebrating Jesus’ birthday.’

I think that statement assumes a bit much. We are not ordered to celebrate it. That doesn’t mean He is against it.

He didn’t tell us to celebrate our birthday, either, or to celebrate Easter, or to have 4th of July parades. But that doesn’t mean it’s against His will.