Background Information

The Christmas Truce

Perhaps anticipating some seasonal cessation of hostilities during the first Christmas of a world war, the British High Command, on Christmas Eve 1914, directed: 'It is thought possible the enemy may be contemplating an attack during Christmas or New Year. Special vigilance will be maintained during this period.'

During a hard overnight frost on Christmas Eve, a reverent rendition of 'Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht' (Silent Night) from a German baritone wafted through the calm air across No Man's Land. In reply, British soldiers carolled 'The First Noöl', receiving warm applause from the Germans who, in turn, serenaded with 'O Tannenbaum' (O Christmas Tree). A moment of hope.

Small Christmas trees, decorated with twinkling candles, began appearing on the parapets of German trenches along two-thirds of the 400-mile trench battlefronts of northern France and Belgium. (Prince Albert introduced into England the long-established German tradition of decorating homes with Christmas trees in the mid-1800s.)

In his diary, one German officer recorded: 'One of the lads from our company waved a placard over the trench with the inscription "Happy Christmas". Soon the British did the same. One Englishman called out to ask us in good German whether we wanted to take away the dead which lay between the two positions. (At that point there were between fifty and sixty dead in front of our company's sector.) After a short pause for thought, we agreed, and some of our lads left the trenches at the same time as the British. Later, the British again asked us to sing Christmas carols.'

Together Saxons and Anglo-Saxons shared in joint prayer sessions and buried their fallen comrades on No Man's Land. Many exchanged greetings, addresses and souvenirs. The Germans shared their supplies of beer, sauerkraut and sausages and the British responded with chocolate, bully beef

and jam.

'When it was discovered that there were barbers among the enemy,' said several Tommies (Privates in the British Army), 'a number of our men were shaved by them in No Man's Land.'