Christmas just wouldn't be the same without Santa Claus, but one town in Germany isn't a big fan of the guy.
The director of Rothenburg's German Christmas Museum claims that these Santas you see everywhere are threatening the German tradition of Father Christmas. Even Germans supposedly don't know the difference any more.
"German Father Christmas, or
'Weihnachtsmann,' was invented as a secular figure after the Reformation
when Protestants spurned saint worship and sought an alternative
gift-giver to the sacred Nicholas with his bishop's mitre and crook."
The museum has since decided to petition to have both Father Christmas and his religious inspiration, the Greek Saint Nicholas added to Unesco's intangible cultural heritage list.
[
Daily Telegraph]