Magic of festivities

December came upon us after having spent a year of festivities. It also brought with it a tinge of regret. 

Festivities are a time to meet and greet, to celebrate and cherish, to reflect and refresh, to hope and harness, to gather and scatter, to inspire and be inspired! 

Now’s the time to marvel at the beauty of a sunrise when nature clothes us with warmth and radiance.

The time to soak in the warmth of a sunset as nature paints a brilliant masterpiece across the darkening sky.

The time to witness the natural order of the gently falling rain. 

The time to see the world in all its glory and fury.

The creator’s radiant glory is all around us, and so is the creator’s fury!

A time to promise ourselves not to erase the trusting smile of a young child. 

The awe-inspiring creations are for us to embrace. 

What have you gathered and scattered in 2022?

What do festivities try to remind us of? The fleetingness of our lives. Memories which are ours to treasure forever. To be able to savour our memories, we need to first create them. What better time than during our festivities and holidays? 

Here is a story to remind us that even during a war, a world war, the soldiers put their differences aside to celebrate Christmas!

Christmas during World War 1

It was 1914. Millions of men from all over Europe had responded enthusiastically to the calls of their leaders to enlist. They were patriotic, they wished to fight for their nation. Women and elders sent their menfolk away with prayers and a heavy heart. They hoped and believed that the war would end very soon. Life indeed hinges on hope. 

Four months into the war there were no signs of the war ending. It was Christmas, four months into the war and the first winter of the Great War.

Winter began!                                                                                              

Winter began and still there was no end in sight to the war!

Winter began and war was still raging on! 

Winter began, and by then thousands of soldiers had been killed!

Winter began, and by then thousands of soldiers were wounded!

Winter began and the ugly reality of war hit home!

Winter was severe. The troops dug trenches to protect themselves from the harsh winter, but it provided scant protection.

The Allied forces from Belgium, France, and Britain were locked in a stalemate with the Germans, each side hoped to wait the other out. 

Between the two armies was a barren stretch of ground called, “No Man’s Land”. No man’s land was usually wider than the length of two football fields. In some places, only 30 yards separated the entrenched troops. In these spots, they were so near that soldiers on one side could hear their enemies on the other side talking. From such close quarters, many of the troops wondered what the men across the land were really like. Were they content to be stuck in these cold, muddy trenches fighting in the name of “the whatever”?

Wouldn’t they prefer to be at home? It was nearly Christmas, and many soldiers thought about home and peace. Some had received packages from their families filled with holiday offerings. The royal families of Britain and Germany had shipped gifts to their troops. Germany had sent Christmas trees to their men on the front lines. 

It was Christmas eve! Men were homesick! They missed their family. Then the magic of Christmas happened. All along the trenches, remarkable things began to happen.

Amidst a terrible war, men willed the fighting to stop, even if only for a few hours. The soldiers participated in the unofficial truces that Christmas in 1914. 

The soldiers then heard singing! Singing! It was coming from the enemy’s side of No Man’s Land! One of the lads who knew German said, “It’s a Christmas carol.” Soon, it seemed, every German voice joined in. When the Germans finished singing, what did the Allied forces – Belgium, France, and Britain do? They sang right back in several tongues. “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” most of them knew variations of that song. 

As if in a competition, another faint sound of singing cut through the frosty air. “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht” The soldiers from British forces recognized the tune. A smile spread across the soldiers faces and they knew the lines. It was “Silent Night.” And suddenly in two tongues one song filled the night sky. 

Then the soldiers noticed someone coming toward them. The front-line sentry called out, everyone aimed their rifles into the December darkness, but fortunately they did not have to open fire as they saw a most amazing sight!

A single German soldier walked across No Man’s Land. In one hand he held a white truce flag, in the other a Christmas tree shining with candles.

A few soldiers leapt from their trenches and rushed forward. They were so brave! But soon everyone from both sides was out there too.

It was all so new and strange; they were nervous at first. Before long, though, they were trading small gifts—chocolates, tins of meat, whatever they had to share. They then began showing one another photographs from home, they were no longer soldiers, no longer enemies. They were all just sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, friends – far away from their families and loved ones. 

One brought out an accordion, one other joined in on a violin, and another with a mouth organ.

For a brief time, the enemies stopped fighting and were friends. As many as 100,000 soldiers are estimated to have participated in what came to be known as the unofficial Christmas Truce. It was a grand human moment. They opened the presents and had dinner. 

It was a Christmas party they never thought they would have. 

They were all heroes. for just one night!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. – Norman Vincent Peale

References:

Christmas in the Trenches, a ballad by John McCutcheon’s 1984 album Winter Solstice

Christmas in the Trenches: The Christmas Truce of 1914 really happened. It was a series of events occurring along the front line that stretched over 400 miles, through eastern France, from the Belgian coast in the north to the Swiss border in the south. Alfred Anderson was the last known combatant who participated in the 1914 World War I Christmas Truce. Scotland’s last known World War I veteran died in November 2005.