During World War I, British and German soldiers put down their weapons to celebrate the holiday spirit together, in a remarkable event known as "the Christmas Truce."
It was Christmas Eve, 1914, and the war was on. German and British troops lay stationed in trenches along the border of Belgium and northern France, aiming their rifles at enemy soldiers, their bodies pressed flat in the frozen dirt. The battle had gone on for weeks, relentless; it seemed there was no end in sight.
Then suddenly, a British soldier received an unexpected gift from the German soldiers – a chocolate cake. Even more surprising was the attached note: The German troops were requesting a ceasefire, so that they could celebrate Christmas without warfare. The stunned British soldiers agreed.
Later that evening, the guns fell silent as the German soldiers began to sing Christmas carols in their native tongue. In turn, the British soldiers responded with a Christmas song in English. The caroling continued through the night – and eventually, the two opposing sides joined their voices to sing in harmony.
All night long, the Western front glowed, illuminated by the burning candles on the German soldiers’ small Tannenbaums. Even the Indian troops on the British side, who did not celebrate Christmas, were brought to tears – the lights reminded them of their own Hindu Festival of Lights.
The next day, British soldier Rifleman J. Reading wrote in a letter, the Germans “came towards us, and our chaps went out to meet them. Of course neither of us had any rifles. I shook hands with some of them, and they gave us cigarettes and cigars. We did not fire that day, and everything was so quiet that it seemed like a dream.”
Soon, some of the soldiers from both sides began venturing into the area known as “no man’s land” for impromptu games of soccer. Others showed off their juggling skills, played cards, gave haircuts, or simply talked about their lives back at home. For that single day, the soldiers were no longer at war: They were simply young men again, sharing their joy on Christmas day.
“So there you are,” wrote another British officer. “All this talk of hate, all this firing at each other that has raged since the beginning of the war quelled and stayed by the magic of Christmas.”
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!