‘If that was Black Christmas 80 years ago, then what do we have now? A second yuletide in a pandemic that broke out of Wuhan, no thanks to the godless ChiComs.’
NAZIS are cold outside. Hence this appeal: “If the German Volk wishes to give something to its soldiers at Christmas, then it should give the warmest clothing that it can do without during the war. In peacetime, all this can easily be replaced. In spite of all the winter equipment prepared by the leadership of the Wehrmacht and its individual branches, every soldier deserves so much more!… This will show the soldier at the eastern front that the Volksgemeinschaft for which he is fighting is not an empty phrase in National Socialist Germany.” [Adolf Hitler, Appeal to the German People, 20 December 1941]
The Fascists found in their match in the Russian winter. And in the steely Soviet resistance.
Meanwhile, mortal combat was accompanied by a Battle of Rhetoric: “The greatness of any nation is in the spirit of its people. So it has always been since history began; so it shall be with us. The range of the tremendous conflict is ever widening. It now extends to the Pacific. Truly it is a stern and solemn time. But as the war widens, so surely our conviction depends at the greatness of our cause.” [George VI of the United Kingdom, Christmas Message, 1941]
“This is a strange Christmas Eve. Almost the whole world is locked in deadly struggle, and, with the most terrible weapons which science can devise, the nations advance upon each other. Ill would it be for us this Christmastide if we were not sure that no greed for the land or wealth of any other people, no vulgar ambition, no morbid lust for material gain at the expense of others, had led us to the field. Here, in the midst of war, raging and roaring over all the lands and seas, creeping nearer to our hearts and homes, here, amid all the tumult, we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each cottage home and in every generous heart. Therefore, we may cast aside for this night at least the cares and dangers which beset us, and make for the children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. Here, then, for one night only, each home throughout the English-speaking world should be a brightly-lighted island of happiness and peace.” [Winston Churchill, Christmas Message, 24 December 1941, Washington, D.C.]
The Germans, at least, were Christians. Not so the Nipponese: Shintoists, Buddhists, worshipers of Tenno and their ghostly ancestors, acolytes of the kami, devotees of Yasukuni Shrine. Thus after December 1941: Bataan Death March, Lipa Massacre, Rape of Manila.
H.A. Burgers, Recent President of the Insular Sugar Refining Corporation of Manila, was correct to be very concerned in the yuletide of 1941: “And let us resolve here, right now, that never again shall we think of the Filipinos as ‘Orphans of the Pacific’ or permit ‘their future history to be written in Japanese’ as was prophesied in a book on Philippine affairs recently published. Today the Filipinos by their baptism of ‘blood, sweat and tears’ are earning their place in the ranks of the Christian democracies. Who in America would again wrangle with them over economic advantages and marketing opportunities?” [Speech before the Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco, December 26, 1941, and broadcast over NBC network]
“Brave Filipinos!… The treachery of Japan has shocked their Christian principles as much as it has our own. They will fight to the last ditch rather than suffer defeat by a race of necromancers who consult the spirits of their dead fathers before launching a treacherous and murderous assault.” [Burgers, The Filipinos Our Allies]
In the Philippines itself: “The Filipinos have named this day well. Black Christmas! The blackness of despair and resignation was everywhere. Only the Axis nationals and the Fifth Columnists were happy. Catesy met one of the released Nazis today and he said he was tempted to wipe the smirk off his face. There was a special smirk reserved these days for the Americans. The handwriting was on the wall, and all of us knew that soon we would be the enemy nationals–behind bars. Apparently the Japanese were not guided by international law and ethics. Open city meant nothing to them. They raided the city six times today and four times yesterday! The patients in my ward ate their Christmas dinner under their beds when the bombs started to drop all around us.” [Diary of Tressa Cates, Christmas Day entry; https://philippinediaryproject.com/1941/12/25/december-25-1941-7/]
If that was Black Christmas 80 years ago, then what do we have now? A second yuletide in a pandemic that broke out of Wuhan, no thanks to the godless ChiComs.
Meanwhile a missive: “I am writing on behalf of Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS), a non-profit educational organization based in California, to appeal to your office regarding the plan of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to replace the images of the P1,000 notes with a Philippine eagle. BLHS worked successfully with the California Department of Education to include World War II in the Philippines in the Grade 11 US History curriculum framework. The P1,000 bill bearing the images of Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, General Vicente Lim and Mrs. Josefa Llanes Escoda is the only representation in the Filipino currency of how an entire nation stood together and sacrificed so much in defense of its mother country and democracy itself during WWII. While students in California and other states in the US are now learning about WWII in the Philippines, our young students in the Philippines are not being taught their proud legacy. I know that many teachers and young students in the Philippines are clamoring to learn about it. Replacing their images will completely obliterate this great legacy that should be a source of national pride for our youth.
“I am aware that BSP has been considering the replacement of paper to polymer banknotes since 2009 for security and other reasons but is it not possible to use the same design or a variation thereof? I believe that the BSP’s goal can be merged with safeguarding the precious historical legacy that was handed down to us and paid for in blood.
“I hope that you can take into consideration the importance of the historical images in your life cycle assessments of paper and polymer bank notes. A country’s currency is a tangible means of educating the public about our proud history. If we fail in this endeavor, how can we expect future generations to love and appreciate their own country and become responsible leaders of tomorrow? [Cecilia I. Gaerlan, Executive Director]
Calling Father Christmas! “No siree! We’re going out the good ol’ fashioned way. Prancer and Dancer and Donder and Blitzen, and Vixen and Nixon…oh, consarnit, I get those names mixed up, but the KIDS know their names.” [Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, 1964]
