Weihnachten customs held upon returning from church leading to the gift giving vary across the German-speaking countries. One of the most common situations sees the returning children wait to enter into their (locked) living room until a little bell rings. This bell marks the departure of the one delivering gifts. In the more Catholic regions - primarily South Germany and Switzerland - this is considered the Christ Child ("Christkind"), while those in North Germany commonly consider it to be the "Weihnachtsmann" (Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus) who is exiting. The children then enter to see the decorated Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas tree), with
Christmas in Nazi Germany Christmas in Nazi Germany Germans celebrated Christmas, but in Nazi Germany, attempts were made to bring the celebration of Christmas in line with Nazi ideology. The Jewish origins of Jesus and the commemoration of his birth as the Jewish Messiah was troubling for some members of the Nazi group and their racial beliefs. Between 1933 and 1945, government officials attempted to remove these aspects of Christmas from civil celebrations and concentrate on cultural pre-Christian aspects of the festival. However church and private celebrations remained Christian in nature. Christianity had long been the main faith of the Germanic peoples, dating to