From August to December, GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER presented the Rhythm & Truths music show on Radio Veritas. Here he discusses some of the songs he played on the two Christmas specials on December 4 and 11, 2011.
Archive | Christmas Facts RSS feed for this section
All was quiet on the Western Font
This year the last surviving soldier of World War I died in Australia. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the first Christmas of World War I, when soldiers on the front decided that, just once, peace and good will should rule on the battlefield.
Over a century of Christmas memories
Margherita Blaser’s earliest Christmas memory goes back to 1911. Still, Christmas remains special even today, as she tells CLAIRE MATHIESON.
Christmas on the streets
For many homeless people, Christmas mean just another day on the street, as NEILAN ADAMS reports.
Pope Benedict’s Christmas 2009
By John Thavis VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Christmas with a call for unselfish charity and solidarity with the suffering, and underlined the message two days later by lunching with the poor at a Rome soup kitchen.
More biographies of Christmas carols
GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER explores the history of some more popular Christmas hymns and songs.
Christmas elsewhere
I love Christmas. And in spite of my advancing age, this is one time of the year that the child in me comes bounding out, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I love the profound holiness of Christmas and the celebration of joy. I have also been fortunate to celebrate Christmas in many other parts of the [...]
A brief history of Christmas
The feast of the Nativity wasn’t always Christmas trees and jingle bells, and Jesus probably was not born on December 25. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER charts a brief history of Christmas.
Christmas myths
Jesus was born on December 25 Celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25 was first suggested in the early fourth century. The Church Fathers wanted to eclipse the pagan festivities on that day. The celebration of Christmas took hold in the Western world in 337 under the Roman emperor Constantine.
Christmas around the world
The Western view of Christmas is becoming increasingly uniquitous, partly thanks to American TV and movies. However, most countries have their own peculiar traditions. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at how Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia, Finland, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Denmark, India, Germany, Lebanon and other countries.
Pilgrimage 2013
The Digital Southern Cross
