Thursday, 24 December 2009

The Great War Christmas Truce

During the Great War of '14-'18 an unofficial truce took place near Ypres in Belgium.

On Christmas Eve 1914, German troops began decorating their trenches and singing carols, including Stille Nacht. The British in their trenches responded by singing English carols.
The two sides shouted Christmas greetings, and soon across "No man's land" gifts were exchanged, comrades buried, prayers said, and indeed a football match played.

In the 1970s Mike Harding wrote and sang a brilliant song called "Christmas 1914", well worth a listen to.
"Christmas Truce" by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton is a superb book covering the subject.

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