During the winter of WW1 on the battlefields, a Christmas miracle took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with both the British and the French. All sides were in muddy, man-made trenches 6' - 8' deep. The enemy trenches were close enough to hear one another with a no-man's land in the middle.
On Christmas Eve the Germans sent small Christmas trees to their soldiers and they put up their small Christmas trees with candles at the top of their trenches. The German soldiers began to sing, "Stille nacht, heilige nach," "Silent night." The British soldiers began to join in with the German soldiers singing, "Silent night."
A German soldier on the opposite side of the British soldiers' trenches held up a sign saying, "You no fight, we no fight" and some Germans in broken English said, "We no shoot if you no shoot."
The British soldiers responded by holding a sign in the air saying, "Merry Christmas" and then a British soldier shouted, "Merry Christmas."
All the soldiers from the German, English and French sides came out of their trenches into no mans land where they shook hands with one another, exchanged Christmas greetings, gifts from home and smokes. On Christmas morning each side went out and helped each other bury their dead and remove their wounded safely into their own trenches. They also sang more Christmas carols and played a game of soccer in no man's land between them. Some of the enemy soldiers exchanged their addresses to see one another after the war.
This truce went on for a fortnight and the soldiers were friendly with each other. Their generals weren't happy with this and ordered them to shoot at each other again. The soldiers spent a few days wasting rounds of ammunition shooting at the stars in the sky instead of shooting the enemy soldiers in their trenches across the field. The military eventually transferred some of the soldiers to other areas to fight.
For a few moments there was peace on earth and good will toward men. Soldiers stopped fighting in WW1 after hearing a Christmas song, "Silent night." For those short moments a miracle took place which brought all the opposing enemy soldiers to a complete halt in remembrance of God's son!
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manager.
And suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men. (The Holy Bible; Luke 2: 11-14)
On Christmas Eve the truce brought all the enemy sides to a remembrance of their God so that they no longer had a disposition to fight with one another. May we all be touched by that miracle and by the remembrance of the birth or Our Lord and Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived on this earth, who is touching lives now just as he did then and from the beginning of time.
This story is based on the true facts of soldiers that participated in this wonderful event! A few truces happened during WW1. A movie was made to tell people about this marvelous miracle that transpired in the First World War also several books have been written. The movie is called "Joyeux Noel" and it is at movie rental stores in the foreign movies section. It is a must see for everyone and also shows actual events and letters in the extra section of the DVD. The DVD has English speaking in it.
