Europeana

Europeana is a European online database showcasing the history and culture of Europe. The site was scheduled to debut around Thanksgiving Day, but when I went to the site it was down due to too much traffic. The site was redesigned to handle more internet traffic and the beta version is now partially running.

I went to the site to see what it was all about. There is still some work to be done as the beta version isn't fully complete yet. This seems to involve mainly icons and such.

I did a search for the quintessential German, Martin Luther. There was lots of stuff about him but I did not have time to go into great depth. I did notice some links to his Small Catechism.

Originally, when I saw a clip about Europeana on DW-TV it was stated that the German culture was not as much as other countries. I think France had the most data at that time a month ago.

I do like the fact that you have options of language. So you can choose Norwegian and search for Luther. I tried that and found some data hits. Not sure how much you will find in English regarding Luther and the Lutheran Church, but I hope the website can showcase a good deal of European history, culture, and religion.

St. Lucia Festival

The St. Lucia festival still seems to be very popular in Sweden. Every year girls are chosen to be St. Lucia, walk in with a crown of lit candles, and boys are chosen to be acolytes who wear conical hats.

This festival was never mentioned when growing up in the Lutheran church we attended. It seems to be more common for Swedish Lutherans, although I did see St. Lucia listed on Dec. 13 in the Treasury of Daily Prayer. So some attempt is being made to enlighten German Saxon Lutherans about the traditions of other Lutherans. It is encouraging to see the Synod recognizing a more broad Lutheran tradition and customs.

I am not sure how much the St. Lucia festival remains in Sweden as a solemn rite or is it now their version of our Americanized watering down of St. Nicholas into a commerical jolly Santa Claus.

Anyway, here's a neat clip from Stockholm, Sweden on Dec. 13, 2007.

Wetten Dass ..? - The Autobahn

Wetten Dass ..? (Wanna Bet?) is the most watched German TV show. It is a combination of stars and ordinary folk. There are some interviews, singing, and betting on whether someone will perform a silly task or not. A fare number of American stars show up on this ZDF program.

This guy is trying to determine what part of the Autobahn is being shown. It's quite amazing.

Ewigkeitssonntag (Eternity Sunday)

I thoroughly enjoy the last Sundays in the Church year, and I am glad that the new lectionary the LCMS is using (with the Proper system) returns us to the traditional German Lutheran practice of holding the last few series of pericope readings in such high regard that they are read every year.

I read an article why researching for this past Sunday's Eternity Sunday sermon that recently all the Germany states (except Saxony) have repealed the day of repentance and prayer as an official state holiday. Pious Christians who wise to celebrate this repentance service (usually observed on the Wednesday of the last week of the Church year, which happens to be Thanksgiving Eve's day for Americans) must take a personal holiday from work.

In some ways, Eternity Sunday is similar to All Saints' Day, but with a more last day theme to it. I recall a professor at the seminary who encouraged us to once a year preach a really in depth sermon full of meaty theology (preferably on justification) and another on the glories of eternal life in heaven. I have followed his advice for the past decade.

Some churches call the last Sunday in the Church year ,,Christ the King Sunday". This follows the example of the Roman Catholic Church which transitioned to this theme in the 1960s or '70s. The traditional, one year lectionary uses Matthew 25.1's parable of the maidens as the text for Eternity Sunday, but the revised common lectionary as revised by the LCMS uses Matthew 25.31's parable of the final judgment. Matthew 25 is just packed full of great parables and a true joy to preach upon every three years.

A Fateful Day

Berlin Wall at Bernauer Strasse, 1961


Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse, 2008


At least six historic events have occured in Germany on November 9th. Some have been quite horrendous, and others cheerful. The most recent event to occur on this day was in 1989 with the opening of the Berlin Wall. This night became a key date in German reunification.

Deutsche Welle has some good articles about the event.

Bridging the Divide

Germany also marks this date as the anniversary of the 'Kristallnacht', known in English as the Night of Broken Glass. German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the event with Jewish leaders at Germany's biggest synagogue in Berlin. She called on all Germans to reject anti-Semitism and racism, and said that the crimes that began 70 years ago, on November 9, must never be repeated. On this day in 1938, Nazi Germany launched its first pogrom against Jews, killing scores, injuring and arresting thousands of others, and attacking Jewish property. The night is considered a harbinger of the Jewish holocaust (Deutsche Welle).

Recently, the largest synagogue in Berlin was renovated.

Germany's Largest Synagogue Reopens in Berlin

Political Parties

I don't know about you, but in my polling district we had several political parties on the ballot. There are the obvious ones, and some lesser known small ones. Here's what appeared on our ballot for presidental choices:

Democrat
Republican
Green Party
Socialism and Liberation
Socialist Party USA
Vote Here
Libertarian Party
Socialist Workers Party
Independent
Constitution Party

While we have a plethora of political parties, our Congress is essentially a two-party system: Democrats and Republicans (with two Independents in the Senate, but I don't think they are affiliated with the Independent Party).

Germany has a number of political parties, and their Bundestag (Federal Parliament, which is similar to our Congress) has at least four parties that get elected to seats. This is why German political parties often form coalitions after elections because no single party seems to garner a majority of seats, so the party with the most seats often forms a coalition with a smaller party to form the majority. These coalitions are temporary and are constantly changing. Right now there are 612 members seated in the Bundestag.

Here are Germany's parties with seats in the Bundestag. Like us, their parties are identified by colors:

Alliance 90/The Greens - Green
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - Black
Christian-Social Union (CSU) - Black
Free Democratic Party (Liberal Party)(FDP) - Blue and Yellow
Left Party - Dark Red
Social Democratic Party (SPD) - Red

Here's a Wikipedia link that identifies the current breakdown in the Bundestag:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Germany_blank

Here's the Bundestag's homepage: http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/

And the U.S. Congress:

House

Senate

Christianity in Germany

Below is the link for Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto's discussion on Issues, Etc. It is from Wednesday, October 29, 2008. The discussion is a good summary of the state of Christianity in Germany today. I highly recommend any thing by Dr. Netto. He has wise insights regarding Christianity in Germany and America.

http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/Show88102908H1S1.mp3