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Stille Nacht - Christmas eve 1914 Post in first comment to avoid Alts naughty word stealing monkeys |
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Stille nacht - Christmas eve 1914 The early days of a war of movement had quickly passed & degenerated into a stalemate. On Christmas eve the British troops were huddled in their trenches trying to keep warm. The air was sharp & the ground was frosty. One or two hundred yards away the German troops were also trying to keep warm in their trenches. Through the crisp night air the British troops could hear the sound of the German troops singing. The sounds of stille nacht, the Christmas carol written in Oberndorf near Salzburg, Austria almost a century earlier. On Christmas eve 1816, Joseph Mohr had gone to see Xaver Gruber to ask him to put music to the words he had written. No rush, but we’re performing it this evening! Ninety eight years later, in 1914 this carol was well known as Silent night in Britain, so the British troops joined in, singing along with their enemy. This turned into an impromptu carol concert, as the two sides ran through a repertoire of the carols they knew. The following morning; Christmas day the two sides got out of their trenches. A game of football was arranged. They probably didn’t have much, but German & British troops exchanged gifts, some tobacco or a few cigarettes perhaps. They showed each other pictures of their families. Some men buried the dead they hadn’t dared to collect from “no man’s land” for fear of being shot attempting it. For a brief while peace broke out. Now they may not be your enemy, but is there someone you’ve lost contact with. Someone who you just drifted apart from for no particular reason? If you regret that you’ve drifted apart, it would be a great time to pick up the phone & say hi. Just a thought. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas I hope you have a wonderful time
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This is a wonderful story and it makes you wonder why we have wars at all ... The men and women in the trenches certainly don't care for them. Wars seem to always be fought by our children, not the elders who decide to have them. It a wonderful sentiment you're suggesting to reconnect with someone. Life is short - Don't make it short and miserable. Make Women Female Again
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A lovely thought I call it sprinkling fairy dust, now Happy Holidays
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A wonderful Christmas story!
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Lovely story... we are all just and only humans, with hearts, loved ones, missing someone, thinking of somebody, wishing this or that, ... days, months and years can be wasted for no particular reason.. we behave like we have all the time of the world, while in fact, our time is so very limited... merry Christmas to you... 
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It reminds me of a Garth Brooks song "Belleau Wood". Merry Christmas to you and everyone!
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Thanks for a great Christmas story Dave!  ~ Physical strength is measured by what we carry. Inner strength is measured by what we can bear. ~
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Dave Thank you for a fascinating piece of History! If only the Warlords had had the same sense as the poor soldiers! Merry Christmas to you A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. George Bernard Shaw Jenny
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2/6/2022 4:56 pm |
I hate to even think of WWI. For years we had WWI vets disabled in our VA hospital into the 1960s and 70s and even 80s from inhaling mustard gas.
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2/6/2022 4:59 pm |
All wars are bad, but there was always something very hideous about WWI. It was truly nightmarish. Advances in science turned against human beings in very grotesque ways.
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