World War I -- Christmas Truce

[PaigeBooth]

This 2014 Christmas season marked the 100 year anniversary of the famous Christmas truce of World War I.

The Christmas truce occurred between British and German troops fighting along the western front in France. The Christmas truce took place on December 24 and 25 of 1914. (the first year of World War I)

A dusting of snow covered the battlefields of the western front on Christmas Eve, 1914, and many soldiers hung paper lanterns along the lines and even decorated Christmas trees. Then (as many of us know) a familiar sound rose from the battle line; the soldiers were singing Silent Night. German and British voices began to blend. Soon, Germans in pointed caps and British in khaki-colored berets came together in No Man's Land and shook hands. On Christmas Day, the soldiers rejoiced, shared stories, gifts, and even played soccer.

At the end of the day, the soldiers realized they must return to fighting or face charges. Please enjoy this commercial I found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

I found this reenactment to be quite touching and wanted to share it.

[L Verge]

(01-06-2015 02:16 PM)PaigeBooth Wrote:  This 2014 Christmas season marked the 100 year anniversary of the famous Christmas truce of World War I.

The Christmas truce occurred between British and German troops fighting along the western front in France. The Christmas truce took place on December 24 and 25 of 1914. (the first year of World War I)

A dusting of snow covered the battlefields of the western front on Christmas Eve, 1914, and many soldiers hung paper lanterns along the lines and even decorated Christmas trees. Then (as many of us know) a familiar sound rose from the battle line; the soldiers were singing Silent Night. German and British voices began to blend. Soon, Germans in pointed caps and British in khaki-colored berets came together in No Man's Land and shook hands. On Christmas Day, the soldiers rejoiced, shared stories, gifts, and even played soccer.

At the end of the day, the soldiers realized they must return to fighting or face charges. Please enjoy this commercial I found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

I found this reenactment to be quite touching and wanted to share it.

Thank you for sharing this, Paige. If only we could achieve this type of brotherhood again. In this modern world of machine warfare, however, we manage to kill people without ever seeing the enemy.

[BettyO]

Excellent, Paige! There is a wonderful movie (direct to DVD) made entitled Joyeaux Noel -- I found it at the supermarket video section for about $5.00 -

It's foreign (French) and subtitled - but an excellent and touching movie - my friends and I love it! Worth watching definitely!

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Paige - this is a wonderful video.
The incident was commemorated worldwide this way:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_271983...-ceasefire
...and so it was in the city where I live, around a fire in the court of the medieval cloister, which has a carillon bell tower, and all the people who came sang "Stille Nacht" together. This was the most solemn and touching moment throughout Xmas to me - especially the thought that people all around the world did the same.

[RJNorton]

I sure agree with Laurie, Betty, and Eva. Paige, thank you for posting this link!

[PaigeBooth]

Hi, Laurie, Betty, Eva, and Roger-- Thank you for your comments and additional information. I am so glad you enjoyed this as much as I did! Wishing all of you a Happy New Year filled with many new posts!

[Gene C]

This is so good, worth remembering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

Thanks again Paige.

[BettyO]

A grand story - and a true one!

[PaigeBooth]

(12-14-2015 10:47 AM)Gene C Wrote:  This is so good, worth remembering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

Thanks again Paige.

Merry Christmas, Gene! Thank you for remembering this wonderful Christmas truce video. I feel the same way about it as you do; just too good to forget. Truly heart-warming.

[Anita]

Love this video Paige and as Betty commented, it's a true story.

Were there any Christmas truces during the Civil War?

[L Verge]

I don't remember mention of any major truce, just snippets about guns being quiet and opposing camps singing Christmas songs across the fields and some bartering going on between the opponents for things like cigars, food, etc.

There were quite a few battles and skirmishes held on Christmas Day, I think, especially in the first few years of the war. One incident that comes close to being a peaceful gesture is when Gen Sherman's men distributed food and other supplies to impoverished Georgians on Christmas in 1864 -- after having destroyed most of the infrastructure of the state...

[PaigeBooth]

Hi Anita,

I agree with Laurie and can not think of any Christmas truce during the Civil War. There were, however, soldiers during the Civil War who actually decorated trees for Christmas. There was one occasion during the Civil War when a New Jersey soldier described decorating a tree, saying, "In order to make it look as much like Christmas as possible, a small tree was stuck up in front of our tent, decked off with hard tack and pork, in lieu of cakes and oranges."

After the World War I truce, many officers were angry with their troops. They did not believe it was right to make friends with the enemy, even on a holiday. After 1914, Christmas truces were forbidden.

Laurie-- that is very interesting about Sherman's men giving food and supplies. I did not know this. Do you have any more information?

[L Verge]

We have carried the Sherman story for years in our Christmas newsletters and the booklets we hand out on our Christmas tours (I'll send you this year's booklet). I may have gotten it originally from Kevin Rawlings, the well-known impersonator of Civil War Santa (created by Thomas Nast). He wrote a great book entitled We Were Marching on Christmas Day, and he used to take part in our Christmas tours.

I'm sure the Sherman story must be online some place. The soldiers even gathered sticks and twigs and tied them to mules' heads to make them appear like reindeer.

[PaigeBooth]

(12-15-2015 10:06 AM)L Verge Wrote:  We have carried the Sherman story for years in our Christmas newsletters and the booklets we hand out on our Christmas tours (I'll send you this year's booklet). I may have gotten it originally from Kevin Rawlings, the well-known impersonator of Civil War Santa (created by Thomas Nast). He wrote a great book entitled We Were Marching on Christmas Day, and he used to take part in our Christmas tours.

I'm sure the Sherman story must be online some place. The soldiers even gathered sticks and twigs and tied them to mules' heads to make them appear like reindeer.

Thank you so much, Laurie!

[Christine]

This is a beautiful presentation of the Christmas Truce with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Walter Chronkite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRq--pTnlog

Try to watch without crying. I can't.