Christmas Eve

The Christmas Truce

/ sandramervillehart

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by Sandra Merville Hart

The war had been going on for five long months. Soldiers missed their families, their homes, and those special girls who awaited their return.

They also missed being warm and well-fed on this cold winter’s evening. Earlier in that December of 1914, Pope Benedict XV had suggested the armies suspend fighting temporarily to celebrate Christmas, a request denied by the countries at war.

The soldiers hunched in the long trenches across from their enemy, longing for warmth, longing for something to mark this day as Christmas Eve. No man’s land, the area between opposing armies, was only about 100 feet in places. In those spots, soldiers could hear each other. The smell of meals cooking in the enemy trenches often wafted over.

Then the lonely soldiers heard something unexpected on the moonlit night—not the sounds of rifles or cannons, but singing. The Germans sang a Christmas carol in their own language. Next, Allied troops from opposing trenches sang a Christmas tune. This continued until the Allies began the familiar carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” German soldiers joined in with the Latin words to the song. It must have been extraordinarily comforting.

helmet-1465352_960_720British Captain A.D. Chater was writing a letter to his mom at 10 am the next morning when he witnessed an amazing sight: a German soldier waving his arms before he and a companion, weaponless, entered no man’s land.

A British soldier cautiously approached them. Within five minutes, officers and men from both armies filled the area. They shook hands and exchanged Christmas greetings.

The soldiers kicked around a soccer ball together. Some accounts mention playing football. A German barber cut a British soldier’s hair. They gave each other gifts of plum pudding, cigarettes, and hats. They posed for photos together and exchanged autographs.

Each side also took the opportunity to bury their dead, soldiers who had been laying in no man’s land for weeks.

Around 100,000 soldiers—two-thirds of the men there—shared in the unforgettable Christmas truce.

christmas-1010749_960_720Peace lasted in a few areas until after New Year’s Day.

The Christmas truce never happened again.

The faith and joy of the season crossed enemy lines one lonely Christmas. Fighting ceased for a moment in time.

 

Sources

Bajekal, Naina. “Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914,” Time Inc., 2016/10/26  http://time.com/3643889/christmas-truce-1914/.

“Christmas Truce of 1914,” History.com, 2016/10/26  http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/christmas-truce-of-1914.

Dearden, Lizzie. “Christmas Day Truce 1914: Letter From trenches shows football match through soldier’s eyes for the first time,” The Independent, 2016/10/26  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/christmas-truce-of-1914-letter-from-trenches-shows-football-match-through-soldiers-eyes-9942929.html.

 

Silent Night

/ sandramervillehart

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Joseph Mohr, a young priest at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria, was asked to plan the music for that all-important service, Christmas Eve Mass.

1818 was an especially cold winter. Mohr strolled over snow-covered lanes to the village church hours before the service was to begin. The choir had practiced the songs. They were ready, even though snowy weather had prevented some from attending practices.

The church organ didn’t work. What could he do?

angel-8186_960_720He hurried to the home of Franz Gruber, a schoolteacher and musician friend. Whether he went there to talk about a poem he wrote or remembered while there is unclear. At some point in their conversation, Mohr showed a poem that he had written two years previously while he served at a church in Mariapfarr. He asked Gruber to compose music and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas poem.

That evening, Mohr and Gruber sang the song for the first time as the guitar played “Stille Nacht.” Singing four-part harmony, the choir repeated the last two lines of each stanza.

christmas-1010749_960_720Karl Mauracher, an organ repairman, came to St. Nicholas the following month. While Mauracher worked on the organ, Mohr told him of the new song sung on Christmas Eve, accompanied by guitar. Mohr sang “Stille Nacht” for Mauracher, who loved it so much that he taught the song to other churches.

Mohr died before his song became well-known throughout Europe. The problem was that folks assumed one of the famous composers, such as Mozart or Beethoven wrote the melody. Gruber’s claims that he wrote the tune didn’t dispel lingering doubts. It wasn’t until an original document by Mohr was found in 1995 that folks widely accepted Gruber’s claim. The manuscript showed that Mohr penned the poem in 1816 and the Gruber composed the music in 1818.

“Stille Nacht” has been translated into English as “Silent Night.” Two centuries later, the carol is still sung every Christmas season. The talents of these two men live on in this song.

Sources

Collins, Ace. Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas, Zondervan, 2010.

Egan, Bill. “Silent Night: The Song Heard ‘Round the World,” Silentnight.web.za, 2016/10/27 http://www.silentnight.web.za/history/index.htm.

“Silent Night,” Wikipedia, 2016/10/27  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night.