A Christmas miracle.

[Retmilleo909]

This is a sobering story which most of you have heard before, but I thought during this Christmas season it's an appropriate time to retell it.

A true Christmas miracle born from the horror of a world war and the unifying music of Christmas.
In any conversation about Christmas miracles, someone often refers to the true story of a Silent Night during 1914 when an unlikely truce between opposing German and British forces demonstrated the true spirit of Christmas in a way unlikely to be forgotten.
People associate the song Silent Night with the so-called "Christmas Truce" because it's the first song known to have echoed across the war-torn battlefield and also because for that night the rifles went silent. On that Christmas Eve, German soldiers began decorating their trenches and singing the famous song. Inspired, the British soldiers returned carols in English, and one of the most famous Christmas miracles of modern history was born. By December 24th, soldiers on both sides were discouraged and dispirited, and it's safe to say no one wanted to spend Christmas in a trench, far from family and friends. So it makes sense that both sides were ready for a truce.
Once the carols had been sung, soldiers began to shout greetings across the field. Several of the German soldiers spoke English, allowing the sides to communicate freely. Soon, brave soldiers began to visit across the neutral zone in the middle of the field (also known as "No Man's Land"). They exchanged gifts of whatever they had: whiskey, jam, cigars, chocolate and uniform buttons or pieces.
One of the more painful but important parts of such Christmas miracles is the emotional impact, and the truce allowed both sides to retrieve soldiers whose bodies had fallen in the middle of the field. Prior to now, it had been too dangerous to emerge from the trenches to claim the bodies. Now, soldiers were given the chance to bury the bodies of their fallen brothers.
In fact, in some cases German and British soldiers joined together to hold funeral services for their friends, reading verses from the Bible, particularly the 23rd psalm.
Unfortunately, Christmas miracles are often all too fleeting. In this case, the war had to resume, and while some soldiers refused to fight, understandably reluctant to resume killing their newfound friends, army officers intervened, and by New Year's Day, the truce was over in all areas -- but not in the hearts of those who experienced it.

[Willowdared]

I think you would enjoy seeing Joyeux Noel...it is a movie based on this event.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/joyeuxnoel/

[Jenna]

What a beautiful triumph of humanity over war. If only the leaders were in the trenches that day.