WWI Christmas Truce

One of my favorite Christmas stories is the story of the WWI Christmas Truce. It shows the side of war that is easily forgotten. That the men are all scared and they all love their families and just want to go home. Especially on Christmas. The story shows also the magic and love of Christmas that changes everyone to be joyful and to share what they have with others.
This is the story of the WWI Christmas truce. I wrote it last year for an assignment but I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! ( First time I enjoyed doing a homework assignment :) )

Oh that Silent Night

            On Christmas Eve, after many of the dark days of WWI, the spirit of Christmas came alive and filled the hearts of the soldiers and compelled them to stop the inhumanity and celebrate together the glorious mystery of Christ’s birth. It all began on Christmas Eve when the Germans began singing Silent Night in their trench. The sound of their voices rung through the air and somehow changed the hearts of the British and French soldiers that night. They sang many carols until finally the other side joined in. Graham Williams, a British soldier of the fifth London Brigade, described that night as: “First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until when we started up ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ the Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words Adeste Fideles. And I thought, well, this is really a most extraordinary thing ­– two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.” Then that silent night ended with an angelic peace that rung through the air in the form of men’s voices. They woke the next morning expecting to continue the war when the German soldiers rose from their trenches with their guns down and hands in the air. Although the penalty of communicating with the enemy was as treason, both sides ignored the consequences that Christmas Day. Though they were far from home, this miraculous gesture changed their lives for just one day. The men shook hands and first helped each other bury the fallen that morning. They then exchanged pictures of each other’s families and gave each other presents consisting of buttons, food, cigarettes or whatever they had. They played soccer and celebrated Christmas as best they could so far away from home. The next morning they resumed the war. These men disregarded the fact that they would have been killed had they been caught but they took action on what they believed was more important that Christmas Day. Through the dark days of WWI the spirit of Christmas came to life and filled the hearts of the soldiers with love and joy that Christmas day. “Sleep in heavenly peace.”