It is very interesting for me to read about the feelings towards Christmas among Non-Christians in your culture. There's nothing remotely similar in scope to that in Germany. I'm an atheist and my wife is but our daughter expects 'christchild' to come to us in the 'holynight' and she'll find presents beneath Christian symbols. Where does that difference come from? Once more, the response is: the Nazi time.

Look e.g. at the best know German secular Christmas song: Hohe Nacht der klaren Sterne (I love it, by the way). Did you see the date of origin? 1936!

Yes, many of the German secular Christmas songs were deliberate attempts by the Nazis to replace Christian feelings. The massive attempt to introduce the term 'Julfest' (yuletide) comes from that time too. Today, if a German uses the word 'yule' you can bet (s)he is a Neonazi and you are right more often than not.

I'm far from any wish to stick the word 'neonazi' in a guilt-by-association way to those of you who use the term. You've a different history and have every right to use such a term without the connotations from our history. My only intention is to tell about differences in today's feelings coming from a different history.

Wolfgang