In 1913, Kaiser Wilhelm banned the German armed forces from dancing the tango.

The tango was born in the back streets of Buenos Aires among the hundreds of thousands of Europeans who emigrated to South America looking for a new life. The dance was a combination of the many different cultures and dance styles represented in that mix of backgrounds.

Despite its humble beginnings, the dance was quickly adopted by the high-class Parisian dance salons and took Europe by storm. It became fashionable to throw tango parties and tango tea dances. By the early 1900s, the dance had become so popular that it attracted the attention of many church and government leaders.

Because of its daring character, Cardinal Amette in Paris declared that “Christians should not in good conscience take part in it.” Then Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany forbade his officers to dance the tango while in uniform, describing the dance as “an affront to common decency.”

Despite these bans the tango survived, particularly through the First World War, as people sought distractions from the horror of war. Today the tango is part of any ballroom dancing repertoire, and its effects on “common decency” are no longer feared.

Dancing, in all its various forms and styles, has frequently been a source of controversy. King David came under scrutiny by his wife Michal when he danced with abandon before the Ark of the Lord. As Michal watched her husband (and king) leaping and twirling with joy, she had nothing but contempt for him. In her eyes David was making a complete fool of himself, and yes, was even “an affront to common decency.”

But David saw it differently. How else could he express his irrepressible joy before God? After all, he had much to celebrate. As he told Michal, he had been chosen over her father Saul to be the next king of Israel. It was worth acting like a fool to David in order to show his joy in the Lord.

How can you show your joy to God today?

I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord. So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord (2 Samuel 6:21).

To Do

Close the door to your room, put on your favorite praise song CD, and dance before the Lord to show him your joy.

Also on this day

Today is National Remembrance Day.

1869—The Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

1973—U.S. President Richard Nixon told the national press, “people got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.