It Happened One Christmas

In 1914, during World War I, a very interesting incident happened in the front lines. Given that it was Christmas, the soldiers on both sides, who were fed up with all of the weeks of fighting and the poor, miserable, conditions of the trenches, agreed to a non-authorized truce. Then, both sides could not only bury their dead in safety, but also enjoy a brief spell of peace, without the threat of violence, to celebrate in the spirit of the holiday.

After hearing their enemies singing Christmas songs, however, soldiers on both sides started, little by little, to wish their enemies a Merry Christmas, as well as to join in full-blown mutual celebration. Eventually, everyone put down their weapons, and was freely singing together, eating together, and even exchanging small gifts like cigarettes and wine. In the spirit of the moment, they even made an impromptu soccer field amid the battlefield and played games against each other.

Of course, news of this eventually reached their superior officers who, from the safety and comfort of their headquarters, immediately issued orders which prohibited any non-official ceasefire. However, there was little to be done at that point, since now, the soldiers were not willing to shoot at those with whom they had been celebrating with earlier. Despite direct orders to continue hostilities, the most many of the soldiers did was to sit idly in the trenches and occasionally shoot into the air once in a while.

Rumors say that in some places the unauthorized truce lasted weeks and a number of garrisons on both sides had to be changed because the soldiers objected to fighting. I found this to be both a fascinating and instructive event as it shows us that, even in extreme situations, we all are still human beings with the same simple dreams and desires. So, becoming involved in any man-made situation which then results in this sort of extreme conflict, has to be one of the stupidest things mankind can do.*

Hi, Anderson. Good job! Whatever changes that I’ve made were merely done to allow your sentences to sound more natural to my native ears. I hope that this helps you. J.

*I cannot remember the name of this movie, or if it was a scene within a movie, but I quickly remembered it. And, I totally agree with your sentiments… .

The Christmas in the Trenches of The First World War

As it was Christmas, soldiers who were fed up with all that fighting and the poor conditions of the trenches agreed on a non-official truce, then they could bury the hatchets and have a moment of peace in the middle of all that tragedy.
However, after hearing their enemies singing Christmas songs, soldiers started to, little by little, wish them Merry Christmas and join in the celebration.

Shortly after, they were all singing together, eating together and exchanging gifts like cigarettes and wine. They even made an impromptu soccer field and played together.
Their superiors, from their comfortable headquarters didn't like that and prohibited any non-official ceasefire. However, there was little to do at that point, since the soldiers were not willing to shoot those who were celebrating with them shortly before. Even though their superiors were putting pressure on them to keep up fighting, the most some soldiers did was idle in the trenches and shoot into the air once in a while. Rumors say that in some places the truce lasted weeks and garrisons had to be changed because the soldiers objected to fighting.
This is an interesting story the shows us that, even in extreme situations, we all are still human beings and getting involved in this sort of conflict is one of the most stupid things the mankind can do.

Excellent article and well written.

Laurence

English Teacher