{"id":14618,"date":"2022-12-06T12:34:38","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westpark-baptist-dev.com\/?p=14618"},"modified":"2022-12-07T13:13:08","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T18:13:08","slug":"christmas-truce-in-the-trenches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westpark-baptist-dev.com\/christmas-truce-in-the-trenches\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Truce in the Trenches"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"> \n#cmsmasters_row_64ffa9a4b7b304_69971470 .cmsmasters_row_outer_parent { \n\tpadding-bottom: 0px; \n} \n\n<\/style><div id=\"cmsmasters_row_64ffa9a4b7b304_69971470\" class=\"cmsmasters_row cmsmasters_color_scheme_default cmsmasters_row_top_default cmsmasters_row_bot_default cmsmasters_row_boxed\">\n<div class=\"cmsmasters_row_outer_parent\">\n<div class=\"cmsmasters_row_outer\">\n<div class=\"cmsmasters_row_inner\">\n<div class=\"cmsmasters_row_margin\">\n<div class=\"cmsmasters_column one_first\">\n<div class=\"cmsmasters_text\">\n<p>\u201cChristmas Truce in the Trenches\u201d reminds us that even amid battle, the power that is Christmas can cause opposing forces to come together.<\/p>\n<p>Celebrating Christmas in song is a long-held tradition and goes as far back as 129 AD in Rome. St. Francis of Assisi became known as the \u201cFather of Caroling\u201d ever since he built a Christmas creche to teach people about the birth of Jesus in song in 1223 AD. During Victorian times in the 1840s, people strolled the streets singing Christmas songs and spreading good cheer. The tradition carried over through generations in many countries, and Christmas songs have become an integral part of the celebrations surrounding the Christmas story.<\/p>\n<p>Nowhere is the significance of Christmas more poignant than on the battlefield. Enemies spontaneously pause to share the joy of Christmas, which became known as the Christmas Truce. There have been instances recorded where outbreaks of Christmas carols silenced the horrors of war, if only for a short time. After World War I, the phenomena of the Christmas Truce faded as stories were dismissed as myth and legend, but also because the high command declared such truces unacceptable.<\/p>\n<p>One undocumented incident is said to have occurred on Christmas Eve in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. While amid intense battle, a French soldier laid down his arms, stood up from his trench, faced the enemy, and began to sing \u201cO Holy Night.\u201d As he finished, a German infantryman was so moved that he began to sing a popular German Christmas carol, Martin Luther\u2019s hymn \u201cFrom Heaven Above to Earth I Come.\u201d Met with praise from both sides, it was the beginning of a Christmas truce. The fighting stopped for 24 hours so that Christmas Day could be honored by the opposing camps.<\/p>\n<p>In 1914, during World War I, the sweetly endearing Christmas carol \u201cSilent Night\u201d was famously sung on the battlefield during a temporary truce on Christmas Eve. Soldiers sang Christmas carols in their own language, and \u201cSilent Night\u201d was sung simultaneously in English, French, and German, giving all the warring sides a moment of true heartfelt peace. The Germans held up a pine branch with lit candles. Then, as the battle quieted, the opposing forces ventured into the treacherous No Man\u2019s Land and exchanged seasonal greetings and meager gifts, offered assistance, and even enjoyed a friendly game of soccer. Hundreds, if not thousands, of troops participated in these truces.<\/p>\n<p>In our imagination, perhaps the truce went something like the presentation in this video of a supermarket ad:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"1914 | Sainsbury&#039;s Ad | Christmas 2014\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NWF2JBb1bvM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Kurt Zehmisch, a German Lieutenant of the 134 Saxons Infantry and schoolteacher, wrote a firsthand account of the impromptu soccer game. \u201cEventually, the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon, a lively game ensued,\u201d he wrote. \u201cHow marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Men who were dedicated to their causes were able to rise above the call to war with the call to peace. It is amazing that Christmas songs about the birth of Jesus can touch the hearts of fierce combatants causing them to lay down their arms and partake in peace on earth and good will toward men.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about this fascinating story by visiting <a href=\"http:\/\/exhibitions.theworldwar.org\/christmas-truce\/introduction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Christmas Truce of 1914<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cChristmas Truce in the Trenches\u201d reminds us that even amid battle, the power that is Christmas can cause opposing forces to come together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[828,245,821,822,829,826,824,830],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Christmas Truce in the Trenches - 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