Ebola broke out in Western Africa. The Winter Olympics took place in Russia. On September 4, Joan Rivers passed away. Germany won the FIFA World Cup for the fifth time. 2014 was an eventful year, and these are only some of the events. One century ago, however, one event would change history. One event would be one of its kind and would not be repeated again. This event is known as the Christmas Truce, and it took place exactly 100 years ago this Christmas Eve and Day.
World War I began after the assassination of the Archduke of Austria and his wife on June 29, 1914. After the assassination, Europe broke out in war with the western front being along France. Trenches were dug and armies prepared for battle. None knew that the war would change the world. No one especially knew that even that year of the war would change the history books forever.
The noises of battle in a few of the trenches of the Western front faded on the first Christmas Eve of the war. Both the Germans and the British began to sing songs of the same tune in their native languages. These songs included carols such as “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”) and “O Tannenbaum” (“O Christmas Tree”). When night fell, soldiers only heard voices of their enemy and fellow soldiers, no guns shooting at one another.
On Christmas morning, the world got a little brighter for some of the soldiers. The Germans began to come out of their trenches holding up their hands. After realizing that they were not armed, the British also came out of their trenches. Together, they met in no man’s land, a place where normally a soldier would never dare go. A truce had begun with the shaking of hands of opposing sides.
Gifts such as tobacco and chocolate were passed around to both sides. Soldiers shared gifts they had gotten in packages for Christmas. Others took time to bury soldiers that had died. Words of prayer were extended to both sides of fallen soldiers. It is even supposed that a soccer match took place with Germany winning.
The truce did not last for long. Many battles resumed on the next day, some a few days after Christmas. Every soldier hoped to just end fighting, but superiors pushed on to continue the war. The Christmas Truce of 1914 left its mark on the history books, however. Forever it would live in the hearts of everyone as the time where two opposing sides came together to celebrate one day, simply forgetting about everything else in the world. This year marks the 100th year, of something so powerful and impacting, its legacy still lives on.