What I thought was going to be an uplifting article addressing a great German tradition of the Weihnachtspyramide tree, we got reporter dredging up the negative past of Cullman. Cullman's past was like many southern towns 60 years ago with its prejudice history. Mr. Diaz times change. I have lived in Cullman for the past 30 years and have never experienced the first sign of any prejudice in my great community. I grew up in Detroit and found more black prejudice there. The deep wounds of prejudice are healing slowly in the south but with writers like you that reopen those wounds and rub salt in them, prejudice may never heal.
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What a wonderful timely story.
I have been to Fredericksburg - best described in the mammoth LBJ biography by Robert Caro.
I remember him telling us that some folks still lspeak German there.
When I went for Oktoberfest one year- it indeed felt to be in Germany though spoken German was sparse.
I used to have one of these when I lived in Scotland (sorry, can't spell it).
But I had not realized why it spins - candles, heat and the wind spinner at the top.
A German ingenuity at its best.
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As a lifelong collector and handbuilder of Weihnachtspyramide, this still isn’t enough to get me to set foot in Alabama. Unless it has a little Jeff Sessions tooting a horn at the apex.
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I am sure that in person it is quite striking and that I would enjoy seeing it. Yet, the primary photo of it here suggests a flawed placement of it; it looks to be right next to an equally tall (if not taller) and a cluttered, ugly power line pole. Perhaps that is an illusion created by the photo angle, but I am thinking not. Maybe Cullman should find a new home for it next year where it can really impress.
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@James McCarthy It's mostly an illusion from the angle of the photo; the Weihnachtspyramide is as far from power line poles as it could've been placed (which, honestly, probably isn't far enough). Also, there isn't really any better place for it in Cullman that isn't halfway to the middle of nowhere.
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And those immigrants of the late 19th century spoke German. Nobody spit at them “speak English!” since at that time German was the second language in the US.
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Actually, those of known or obvious German ancestry (such as having a strong accent or speaking German and/or having an obvious German name) were discriminated against and scrutinized and reported to authorities quite a bit during both world wars, and in every part of the country.
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@Zejee -----"World War I and ambient anti-German hysteria played into the
hands of the political organizations that advocated for Prohibition,
most prominently the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) and the Woman’s
Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). "
Source: https://www.ghi-dc.org/fileadmin/user_upload/GHI_Washington/Publications/Bulletin53/bu53_031.pdf
@Zejee Actually my German ancestors who arrived in America (New Jersey) in the early 19th century experienced severe discrimination and lack of equal opportunity, and were forced to change their names and abandon their heritage in order to survive economically. It is in part that historic treatment of my ancestors that makes me quite sensitive and forgiving toward immigrants arriving in America today.
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Emily,
I strongly disagree with your comment. Obviously the people of Cullman, Alabama do too. What is wrong with a Christmas celebration which brings joy and happiness to others. Our political correctness has gone way too far. If other religious faiths want to celebrate their customs, who is stopping them? No one.
In New York City, Christmas has become a secular holiday to the dismay of many Christians. It is more than just buying presents. The reason for the holiday is the birth of Christ. We should never have to downplay this very important fact. The people of Cullman obviously do not. As a Christian, I take this season very seriously as do many, many others around the world.
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Christmas has become a secular holiday to the dismay of Christians?
Uh. Been to the Midwest recently? Ever? The whole season starting before Halloween is dedicated to mindless consumerism. There are a few bell ringers here and there and Sunday sermons about love and poverty and how they should vote. Then they go and vote as they’re told, in complete disregard for the teachings of Christ. One need look no further than the cheers Trump receives at Christian prayer breakfasts. Hypocrisy much?
We are a nation founded on the freedom of and from religion. We need to return to that ideal, codified in law.
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I never thought I would read in the Times that there is such a thing as German Americans. I am a proud German American but my ethnicity has been either denied or condemned in this publication. Proof of that is associating German Americans with racism in this very article. German Americans fought exclusively against slavery in the Civil War lead by the most famous German American politician of the era, Carl Schurz. German Americans overwhelmingly lived in the German Triangle. Cincinnati, St Louis and Milwaukee. Not in the South.
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@Shamrock
German American here. German immigrants settled by the thousands in Texas since the 1830s. Ditto for Kentucky. Louisville boasts a large neighborhood called Germantown, the center of German settlement in the region since the 1850s.
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It was lovely reading a story where a town is happy with a Christmas celebration such as the one in Cullman, Alabama. It makes the season so much more festive and gives it meaning. And it is so nice that people of all ages can enjoy this too.
I wish more cities had this sort of display at this time of year. It makes me long for my childhood Christmases in Boston where we had all sorts of Christmas activities. I wish we could return to this sort of celebrating and it is really what we need in our country right now.
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@KMW No, further erosion of the barriers between church and state are definitely not what our country needs right now. Christmas activities or displays should not be funded with public money. Public spaces should not be used to enact them. I understand your attachment to these festivities, but please remember that not all Americans are Christian; our Constitution prohibits these customs.
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Our constitution does not prohibit citizens from openly celebrating or decorating for Christmas.
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@Emily I agree. If we do it for the Christians, then we need to use public money for other religious displays too, to include Jews, Muslims, any Eastern religion, etc.
That is why we should not use public funding for any of it. This favors one religion over all the others, and that is not just use of public money.
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