Day 5 Part 1: The Christmas Truce of 1914 and how it applies in 2016

One of the only existing photos of the Christmas Truce of 1914. German and English forces in Flanders, Belgium.

2150 Local Time
Vilseck, Germany

The date was 24 December, 1914. Exactly 102 years ago at this very moment. I imagine the night was cold and wet across the Flanders region of Belgium, much like it is tonight. The trench lines were clearly drawn between the Germans and the English. A literal, physical line had been drawn in the soft chalky ground.  The war was only five months old, but already it was known that nobody dared to cross that line into "no mans land," the area between the two trench lines. In fact, just lifting your head above the tench line could lead to instant death from a sniper on the other side. By this time, both the Germans and British had lost over 100,000 men each. This hardly seems like something to sing about.

World leaders from President Woodrow Wilson of the United States to Pope Benedict XV asked for a temporary halt to hostilities. Protestants and Catholics alike agreed that the day of the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace should be observed as sacred above any war, no matter the cost. From East to West political and religious leaders were looking for a way to halt hostilities, even if just temporarily. However there were not political or military signs of slowing down the chaotic war.

Officially, nobody below a strategic (General Officer) level could agree to a truce in partial or whole. Soldiers were bound by their orders to see the enemy then kill them. Both the German and British armies were as professional as they came in 1914. They were combat hardened veterans that understood the orders to kill.

However on this Christmas Eve more than a century ago, a German Regiment from Bavaria lit some candles on a Christmas tree behind the sand-bagged safety of the trench line (a real one, not that $29.99 Wal-Mart shit). What happened next goes down in history as the most miracle of Christmas miracles, in my opinion. The British were not going to be out done. After listening to the Germans sing a Christmas carol, the British responded by singing The First Noel. The Germans responded with singing Oh Tannenbaum. After the British responded with Oh Come All Ye Faithful, the Germans one upped them in typical German fashion by singing it in Latin!

Sniper slit in a British trench near Ypres (Ieper) Belgium.

The 1st Somerset Light Infantry observed a German band walk out into the dreaded no-mans-land. The band proceeded to play the national anthems of both countries, then two Christmas songs, before returning behind German lines. A Canadian Regiment (part of the British Expeditionary Force) was privy to a soccer kick around with a German platoon while the foes met in no-mans land to share tobacco and food. Many more stories of such truces existed from first and second hand sources.

Realistically, this was also a time for sorting of dead bodies stuck in no mans land and also an opportunity to resupply artillery and the front line troops with ammunition for upcoming battles. As much as it was an opportunity to rest and boost morale, it was also an opportunity to prepare to kill.

In years after 1914 measures were taken by higher authorities to prevent such Christmas truces, or any truce for that matter from taking place. Officers ordered artillery barrages and increased sniper activity to deter these seemingly profound acts of humanity. The historical evidence shows that these events were real, even if rare. If in the middle of record bloodshed between rival nations the Christmas Spirit could halt a war, what can we learn from it in 2016?

Near this trench line in Flanders, Belgium a soccer
match marked a Christmas Truce from fighting in WWI.

There is something to be learned from the events of Christmas 2014. I was in Ieper, Belgium this week and observed a soccer tournament taking place between Belgian, English, French and other youth teams from Europe. In fact this is very common across the world now as a nod to the events of 1914. They are all celebrating the common cultural values that bind us all. The tournaments celebrate the Christmas Truce of 1914 and the common values shared by everyone. Although we have some differences, in the end we all want peace and prosperity.

I have avoided being political in this blog lately, mostly because I had been too political previously and as such, lost the direction I was focused on as an amateur writer. As messed up as America is right now--as divided as we have been in decades--one thing that we can all agree on is our shared belief in common goals of peace and happiness.

In that spirit I hope that America can have it's own Christmas Truce in 2016, and maybe beyond.