9781469622132-1469622130-Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History

Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History

ISBN-13: 9781469622132
ISBN-10: 1469622130
Edition: Reprint
Author: Joe Perry
Publication date: 2014
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Format: Paperback 416 pages
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Book details

ISBN-13: 9781469622132
ISBN-10: 1469622130
Edition: Reprint
Author: Joe Perry
Publication date: 2014
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Format: Paperback 416 pages

Summary

Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History (ISBN-13: 9781469622132 and ISBN-10: 1469622130), written by authors Joe Perry, was published by The University of North Carolina Press in 2014. With an overall rating of 4.3 stars, it's a notable title among other Christian Living (Christian Books & Bibles) books. You can easily purchase or rent Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History (Paperback) from BooksRun, along with many other new and used Christian Living books and textbooks. And, if you're looking to sell your copy, our current buyback offer is $0.74.

Description

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 Germany's 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 of Christmas by the Third Reich, and the political manipulation of Christmas during the Cold War. Perry offers a close analysis of the impact of consumer culture on popular celebration and the conflicts created as religious, commercial, and political authorities sought to control the holiday's meaning. By unpacking the intimate links between domestic celebration, popular piety, consumer desires, and political ideology, Perry concludes that family festivity was central in the making and remaking of public national identities.

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