In this Christmas time,let us remember one of the more touching
moments in the brutalities of war.
The "Christmas truce" is a term used to describe the brief
unofficial cessation of hostilities that occurred between German
and British troops stationed on the Western Front of World War I
during Christmas 1914. The truce began on Christmas Eve, December
24, 1914, when German troops began decorating the area around their
trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium, for Christmas. They began
by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by
singing Christmas carols, namely Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The
British troops in the trenches across from them responded by
singing English carols.
The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each
other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the "No
Man's Land" where small gifts were exchanged whisky, jam, cigars,
and the like. The artillery in the region fell silent that night.
The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen
soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial
parties. Proper burials took place as soldiers from both sides
mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral
in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a
passage from the 23rd Psalm: