The Christmas Truce

The “Christmas Truce” is a term used to describe the brief unofficial cecessation of hostilities that occured between British and German troops stationed on the Western Front of World War I during Christmas 1914.

The truce began on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914 when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres,Belgium in celebration for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols, namely Stille Nacht ("Silent Night"). The British troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols. The two sides continued shouting Christmas greetings to each other.

Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the “No Man’s Land” where small gifts were exchanged – whiskey, cigars, and the like. The artillery in the region fell silent that night. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind thier lines by burial parties.

The truce spread to other areas of the lines, and there are many stories of football (soccer) matches between the opposing forces. In many sectors the truce lasted through Christmas night, but in some areas, it continued until New Year’s Day.

The truce occurred in spite of oppostion at higher levels of the military, who were furious knowing that after this humanizing event it could be much harder to order soldiers to forget thier own humanity.