Page 48 - All About History - Issue 59-17

Mythbusting Christmas

The Three
wise… who? The nazi PloT To Hitler hijacked

Despite what the Nativity tells us, the baby Jesus the holiday,
was not visited by three wise kings the night he removing Christian
was born. In fact, he was visited by three wise sTeal ChrisTmas references
men bearing gifts – and they actually arrived a
couple of months after his birth. In Nazi Germany, Christmas was celebrated might mention a supreme being but they
by decorating trees with swastikas and more prominently featured ‘light’ rituals.
children were given gifts such as toy tanks To this end, lighting candles on your
and SS soldier action figures. This much Christmas tree was encouraged over
we might expect from the Nazi propaganda putting up a Star of Bethlehem.
machine, but what might baffle some is that Resurrecting the old Germanic gods was also
these boys and girls were given their gifts supposed to be about celebrating the Aryan
by the Nordic god Odin. race’s supposed heritage, normalising the Nazi
This was in part because Nazis ideologues ideologies of racial purity. Christmas cards
saw organised religion as an enemy of the invariably featured blonde-haired, blue-eyed
totalitarian state, so sought to de-emphasise German families gathered around Christmas
— if not eliminate altogether — Christianity trees. Germans were also encouraged to ‘buy
from the holiday. Christmas carols were Aryan’ and boycott Jewish department stores.
rewritten to reflect the party’s views; the There were those who objected to Christ
most popular carol, ‘Exalted Night of the being taken out of Christmas — particularly
Clear Stars’, continued to be sung even after members of the clergy. However, many
1945. Families were encouraged to make seemed to embrace the neo-pagan festival’s
homemade decorations in the shape of ‘Odin’s brightly coloured pageantry. The secret police
Sun Wheel’ and bake treats in the shape of reported that complaints about official policies
Nordic fertility symbols. Official celebrations dissolved in an overall “Christmas mood.”
There is also hot debate
concerning the number Waffen-SS cadets’
of wise men Christmas Party, 1941
io saTurnalia!

Although the Romans held celebrations in
December, it was not for the Christmas that
we know and love today. They celebrated
Saturnalia, the pagan winter solstice festival,
where gifts were exchanged and lavish banquets
and entertainments were held. It was named in
honour of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

Nazi Youth members collected
food for the poor at Christmas

Saturnalia was
designated a holy day