Between the Years

Is Freiburg at the Origin of the Christmas Tree?

Fakes are nothing new. Here is a steel engraving from 1843 by Carl August Schwerdgeburth (1785-1878) titled "Dr. Martin Luther im Kreise seiner Familie zu Wittenberg am Christabend 1536" (Dr. Martin Luther surrounded by his family in Wittenberg on Christmas Eve, 1536). The person watching the scene behind the chair clearly is Philip Melanchthon, Luther's expert on Old Greek and more; the two old people can't be Luther's parents because they were dead by then.

Luther ought to have said, "If I knew that the world ended tomorrow, I still would plant an apple tree today." Since I am convinced he would not have cut down a small fir tree, the candled Christmas tree in Luther's parlor is a fake. On the other hand, does Luther accompany his ten-year-old son Johannes on the lute singing his father's popular Christmas carol, "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" (From heaven above I come)?

This does not mean that Christmas parlors at Luther's time had to do without evergreen ornaments. According to a legend from the Breisgau, the Brotherhood of Bakers in Freiburg decorated a tree (fir?) with gingerbread, apples, paper, and colored nuts as early as 1419.

Historical is a document from Strasbourg in 1492 describing the purchase of fir trees, "Item Koüfft 9 Tannen in die 9 Kirchspill, das gut jor darjnn zu empfohlen, unnd darumb gebenn 2 Gulden (Alike bought 9 fir trees for 9 parishes entrusted for a good year and gave for them 9 gilders)."

Another historical evidence is from 1521, when the forester in Schlettstadt (Sélestat), Alsace, was paid to tend the meyen. Meyen is a term for the festive tree decorated at Christmas but with no lights. It was not until 1611 that Duchess Dorothea Sibyl of Brandenburg first decorated a Christmas tree with candles.

In bourgeois circles, the Christmas tree came into vogue only in the late 18th century. Goethe frequently writes about Christmas trees and how he cut down a fir tree in his prince's forest. That was a forest crime, severely punished at the time.

Christmas in Freiburg‘s Minster Church

The church is decorated with LED-illuminated fir trees

Between the solemnities of the Nativity and the Epiphany of the Lord, the interior of the Freiburg's Minster church is quiet and mostly empty except for those …

Admire the splendid Poinsettia (in German Weihnachtsstern > Christmas Star)

… who want to donate a candle to the church's patron saint, St. Mary, …

A girl and a boy with their rose and bluebonnets

… and those who admire the large crib.

 

Germany's Two Churches on Corona

The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Central Germany, Friedrich Kramer, expressed concern about the sharpness of the controversy over Corona vaccinations. "Vaccination and the debate about it have taken on a religious character. The absoluteness of the statements reminds me of articles of faith, "complained the leading clergyman. "Don't judge people solely by their vaccination status. If you start lumping people together only by what they say, think, or do, you remain in witch-hunt mode." So we must love the anti-vaxxers, too.


The Catholic Bishop of Fulda, Michael Gerber, said that the effect of the pandemic seems to be in everyone's pores and deviated into some lateral thinking, "Who has what access to what resources in our world? What interests and power games are involved?". But then he returned, renewing his call for vaccination. "Those who travel in the cold fog without appropriate clothing endanger their own health, and those who drive without headlights also endanger others, " Gerber stressed. He continued, "Preventive, protective measures and, in particular, vaccination could be understood as an act of gratitude to God. After all, he gave us the mind to investigate causes and avert dangers," In the end, Gerber emphasized: "Trusting in God does not simply replace trusting in medicine." What a statement.

Is Neil deGrasse Tyson Destroying America's Christmas Magic?

My loyal readers know that I admire astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. However, on Christmas Eve, he seemed to have gone too far with his country fellows: 

Admittedly, for most Europeans, red-dressed Santas*, sleighs with jingle bells, and red-nose reindeer have little significance (Stellenwert).

*We have our St. Nikolaus on December 6

An American reader noted that the timing was horrible, "This is why people don't like atheists. You post this on Christmas Eve?"

"I like that you give us the physics, but maybe, just once in a while, you should stop for the holiday magic," wrote another.

 

Tyson doubled on Christmas Day on zoology and gender madness, "Santa's reindeer, which all sports antlers, are therefore all female, which means Rudolf has been misgendered."

A reader commented, "Ruining Christmas one tweet at a time." Another wrote, "They also can't fly, but you go ahead and take the joy out of everything on Christmas Eve if it makes you happy."

Sorry, I still like the guy.

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