When Hitler tried to redesign Christmas

[marmar]

When Hitler tried to redesign Christmas
Donald Trump now claims to have "won" the so-called war on Christmas. The holiday was an issue for Hitler as well

By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 22, 2023 9:12AM (EST)


(Salon) It's a real contest but if I had to choose Donald Trump's most fatuous claim it would have to be that until he became president "nobody could say Merry Christmas anymore." He made the claim again just the other day and his ecstatic followers practically went into a collective fugue state and began speaking in tongues they were so thrilled. This war on Christmas has been a theme on the right for many, many years but Trump is the first politician to say that he "won" it. It was smart. After all, the war didn't exist in the first place so every time anyone says "Merry Christmas" he gets the credit. Boom!

I have no doubt that his right-wing evangelical fans are thrilled by all this. This is one of Christianity's most important holidays after all. On the other hand, most of them are also fine with Trump evoking Adolph Hitler's rhetoric so their alleged reverence for Christmas as a religious holiday may be beside the point.

....(snip)....

They're happy to join in Trump's racism and bigotry against his chosen "others" which he recently specifically defined as people from Asia, Africa and South America who are "poisoning the blood" of our country. Trump and his supporters also despise Muslims from anywhere, "radical leftist thugs," LGBTQ people and the media, all of whom the Nazi Party also saw as enemies. Let's just say the historical Nazis shared a whole lot of the same grievances we see in the MAGA movement today.

....(snip)....

Hitler ordered that Christmas be altered in other ways as well. The Christmas tree was originally a German tradition but he really didn't like that star on the top which was just a little bit too reminiscent of the Jewish Star of David or the five-pointed star of the Soviet Union. So they replaced it with a Germanic “sun wheel” or a Sig rune. This was in keeping with the Nazi plan to move Christmas away from a Christian holiday into a more ancient German pagan celebration of the winter solstice, even calling it by a different name: Rauhnacht, the Rough Night (for some reason.) ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/22/when-hitler-tried-to-redesign-christmas/

[Meadowoak]

1. I always say Happy Holidays.

[usonian]

2. The rich and powerful are always trying to "improve" things and people.

Great spiritual leaders are humble because they see the divinity in each person.

People don't need "improvement", as human nature hasn't changed in ages.

They need equality, respect as human beings, and fairness.

Whether their "improvement" comes from architecture, ideology, windows 98, intelligent autos (I'd rather drive Christine than a Tesla), a political Elmer Gantry grifting for all it's worth, a son of a rich dad (or Mum) bearing a Holy Hand Grenade,



they are all CHARLEtons, incomplete, inconsistent and broken people who seek to repair themselves by inflicting their misery on others.

People who are BIG in spirit build others up, whereas people SMALL in spirit try to cut others down to their miserable life condition.

Sons of rich dads! Get a life!
Join the service, peel potatoes, repair jeeps and chip paint.

[John1956PA]

3. I have wondered about the carol "O Tannenbaum."

The title strikes me as secular. However, I must admit that I do not know about the lyrics.

[LastDemocratInSC]

4. When I was a child in the fifties

I thought it was "O atomic bomb".

[Igel]

6. It's an ode to a fir tree.

It's as religious as mistletoe.

[Emrys]

7. It was a secular song

Originally a traditional folk song (it's the same tune as the Socialist anthem "The Red Flag" and a few other songs over the years), the evergreen fir symbolized constancy and resilience. Over time, it understandably came to be associated with the Christmas tree.

The modern German lyrics date from 1824. Here they are:

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat schon zur Winterzeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren:
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
Gibt Mut und Kraft zu jeder Zeit!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren!

There have been various English translations of its words, but here's my own fairly literal and non-poetic one:

O fir tree, o fir tree
How faithful are your leaves!
You green not only in summertime
No, also in winter, when it snows
O fir tree, o fir tree
How faithful are your leaves!

O fir tree, o fir tree
You can greatly please me!
How often even in wintertime
Has a bough of yours
Given me great delight!
O fir tree, o fir tree
You can greatly please me!

O fir tree, o fir tree
Your garb wants to teach me something:
Hope and constancy
Give courage and strength to every day!
O fir tree, o fir tree
Your garb wants to teach me something!

[John1956PA]

8. Thank you for your detailed explanation and translation.

I appreciate your taking time to provide the background and lyrics of the carol.

[Emrys]

9. You're welcome.

It was good to remind myself of some of the details.

Merry Christmas!

[localroger]

5. The "rough night" thing is no great mystery

Christmas is the Winter Solstice, displaced by a few days, and the Solstice is the longest night and shortest day of the year. So if you are depending on sunlight and warmth for crops to grow and for game to be plentiful, the Solstice is literally the worst time of the year. Fortunately you've probably hoarded enough stuff from last summer to last through, and spend the dark days drinking and making merry as you look forward to Spring.

[Aristus]

10. SS leader Heinrich Himmler wanted to do away with Christianity entirely.

Claiming, like a number of Evangelicals these days, that Christianity is weak, and of course, finds its origins in the Jewish faith.

Himmler wanted to abolish all Christian holidays and customs, and replace them with a suitable pagan alternative. Christening a baby, for example, was turned into a 'naming ceremony', in which the baby, surrounded by SS and Nazi panoply and under a portrait of Hitler, would receive his name while his parents swore an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer.

Hitler liked Himmler's ideas, but refused to implement the most radical of them, fearing to alienate German Christians.