Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History

For poets priests and politicians–and especially ordinary Germans–in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the image of the loving nuclear family gathered around the Christmas tree symbolized the unity of the nation at large. German Christmas was supposedly organic a product of the winter solstice rituals of pagan “Teutonic” tribes the celebration of the birth of Jesus and the age-old customs that defined German character. Yet as Joe Perry argues Germans also used these annual celebrations to contest the deepest values that held the German community together: faith family and love certainly but also civic responsibility material prosperity and national belonging.This richly illustrated volume explores the invention evolution and politicization of Germanys favorite national holiday. According to Perry Christmas played a crucial role in public politics as revealed in the militarization of “War Christmas” during World War I and World War II the Nazification