Still, that one day gives us hope for the future and symbolizes our ongoing desire for peace.
It was indeed a silent and holy night where for a few hours all was calm and all was bright. Stockwell wrote that his counterpart then ‘fired two shots in the air-and the war was on again.’”Ī Christmas carol stopped a war for many, even if it was just for day. The History Channel says at 8:30 in the morning of December 26 “Captain Charles Stockwell of the 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers fired three shots into the air and raised a flag that read ‘Merry Christmas.’ His German counterpart raised a flag that read ‘Thank you.’ The two men then mounted the parapets, saluted each other and returned to their sodden trenches. That led to the ceasefire, where the soldiers exchanged gifts like cigarettes, chocolates, sausages, liquor and plum puddings and in some cases played soccer.Īt sunset they were all back in their respective trenches, ready to fight the next day. When the Germans finished, the soldiers on the other side cheered and began singing the English version. As he looked down the line he saw similar trees shining in the German trenches. Intrigued, Charles Brewer, 19-year-old British lieutenant with the Bedfordshire Regiment of the 2nd Battalion, slowly raised his head over the sandbags protecting him and saw a Christmas tree. They met in fields strewn with dead, frozen bodies, destroyed trees and huge craters.Īccording to the History Channel, it started on Christmas Eve after a British sentry saw lights glistening on the German parapet just 100 yards away. Instead, soldiers on both sides of the battle tentatively laid down their weapons and poked their heads – and finally their bodies – out of the trenches to wish each other a Merry Christmas. On Christmas morning in 1914 World War I stopped for a few hours for thousands of soldiers fighting along the 500-mile Western Front. This is a must see that gives us hope for our future. The two-act opera is based on actual events and explores the unsustainability of war when enemies come to know each other as friends.
12-20 the Michigan Opera Theatre will present American Composer Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary opera, Silent Night.
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