Culture Shock #13: Germans don't know they are Christians

The other day, I got in my first fight with a German. Okay, "fight" is a strong word. Lively disagreement. 

The context: Today is a German holiday called Saint Martin's Day. It's some minor holiday celebrating some dude who did the following things:

1. Saw a homeless man freezing on the street

2. Ripped his own coat in half 

3. Gave half of his coat to the homeless man

4. Was granted sainthood for his good deed

Personally, I can think of nobler causes to celebrate. Not to mention, the whole "ripping the coat in half" thing makes no sense to me. Seems more like a way to ensure that both men freeze than anything else. Anyway. I digress. 

The disagreement I was having was with another intern at the Waldorf school. She had asked me if I was familiar with Saint Martin's Day, and I explained that I was Jewish and therefore don't know much about any Christian holidays. The intern responded by asserting that this wasn't a Christian holiday, just a German one. I was confused. SAINT Martin's Day wasn't a Christian holiday?? What next, Christimas wasn't either?? 

We eventually came to the conclusion that I was right. It got me thinking though, how many holidays do Germans celebrate without realizing their Christian roots? Can you even separate German tradition from Christian tradition? As if on cue, I walked into school that same day and realized we had the elusive "Religion Class" for the first time this year. Unsurprisingly, "Religion Class" in Germany means "Christian Class Where We Learn About Christian Stuff." 

To be clear, I don't mind students learning about Christianity. I just wish they called it like it was. Like don't call it "Religion Class" if it's just covering content about Christianity. Call it "Christian Class." Or "Just Jesus." Or "Hailing Our Holy Father Hour." You get the idea.

That being said, I did come out as a Jew to the fourth grade teacher the other day, and he asked me if I would help him plan a lesson about Chanukkah to teach in December. It actually made me kind of emotional, thinking about the prospect of teaching German children about Jewish tradition and holidays. I said yes, obviously. It may not seem like a big deal, but these kids know nothing about Judaism. No one here in Germany really does. I mean, they know about the Holocaust and all the terrible things their nation did to the Jewish diaspora. But they are very removed from actual modern Jewish practices and traditions and communities, which I think is a great shame. I hope I can do my part to rectify this, with the hopes of not only educating Germans about Judaism, but also working to heal my own family's relationship to this country and our past.