Skipping Christmas - by Official Order     12/27/2005 By Robert Knight Schools in America are beginning to adopt an unthinkable standard. This is an EVERGREEN article from CWA, re-posted for your reflection and enjoyment. During the 1930s, after the Nazis consolidated power in Germany and in Austria, they made their presence known by enforcing their brand of political correctness. Signs of Christianity began to disappear, and children were taught a new, pagan religion in the public schools. Below, you'll find an account by Maria Augusta Trapp, the model for Julie Andrews' character in The Sound of Music. But first, here's a roundup of some of the outrages occurring all over the country, as schools push Christmas into the dustbin in the name of "tolerance." Credit goes to David C. Gibbs Jr. and David C. Gibbs III of the Christian Law Association, who wrote "Has Christmas Become Illegal in America?" for the December 2004/January 2005 edition of National Liberty Journal: A teacher in Texas discontinued all Christmas celebrations and substituted the celebration of Kwanzaa, during which first graders were taught to worship their ancestors. An Oklahoma public school banned all religious music and displays during the Christmas season. Kindergartners in Missouri were told they could not sing Christmas carols in school during the holidays. Students in South Carolina were told to write an essay on a topic of their choice during the month of December, but when one student wanted to write about Christmas, the teacher refused to grade his essay. With liberal grinches working all over the country to push Christmas out of the public square, it might be instructive to look at what occurred in another country, back in the 1930s. In The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (Image Books/Doubleday: 1957), Maria Augusta Trapp relates how the Nazis moved quickly to de-Christianize the public schools and to pit pupils against their parents: "The children came home from school saying that this or that old teacher wasn't there anymore, new teachers, even a new principal taking their places." "This morning we were told at the assembly that our parents are nice, old-fashioned people who don't understand the new Party. We should leave them alone and not bother. We are the hope of the nation, the hope of the whole world. We should never mention at home what we learn at school now." "Mother, listen what I learned in school today," and little Rosemarie's eyes looked frightened. "The teacher said Jesus was only a naughty Jewish boy Who ran away from His parents. That's all. That isn't true, is it, Mother?" "Mother, the teacher wants you to see her in school," announced Lorli, the proud first-grader. I went the next day. The teacher, a strange lady, was quite friendly. "You must do something about your little girl, or you will get into serious trouble soon," she warned me. "When we learned our new anthem yesterday" (how hard it was not to wince visibly at the word "our") "she just didn't open her mouth." (p. 117) Later, after Maria's husband Georg told his family that they had been commissioned to sing for Adolf Hitler's birthday, the children were frightened: "Will we have to say, 'Heil Hitler' then?" "Will we have to sing the new anthem on the stage?" "How about Father Wassner? The Nazis don't like priests." "In school we are not permitted to sing any religious songs with the name of Christ or Christmas. We can hardly sing any Bach for that reason." As American schools move to wipe out any mention of Christmas, and instead celebrate the Winter Solstice, Winter Holiday or just December Break, let's pause for a moment and reflect on Austria and the experience of the Trapp Family Singers.