On Christmas Day, 1914, a surprisingly heartwarming story from the trenches of the Western Front emerged. The Great War had broken out only a few short months before, but the wounds of war had already sprung up in the miles of trenches and thousands of graves that scarred the French landscape. After several failed offensives from both sides of the war, the high command of each major nation had withdrawn to construct new battle plans for 1915, leaving the front stagnant and almost boring for most of December of 1914.

While soldiers from opposing sides had shouted season's greetings at each other from their trenches for the past month, the events on Christmas day were very unexpected. German soldiers lit candles in their trenches and woke the British to the sound of Christmas carols; recognizing the tune, British soldiers soon joined in to envelop the battlefield in a hymn of holiday cheer.

Across the entire front line, thousands of soldiers tentatively made their way into the No Man's Land between the trenches to meet with their supposed enemy and exchange kind words and gifts. In some areas, friendly soccer matches between two opposing armies began, purely in the spirit of fun and celebration. The guns had fallen silent and were replaced with laughter and song. The truce also served a pragmatic purpose. The dead from both sides were collected and buried, and joint funeral and church services between both sides laid them to rest.

British and German soldiers celebrate, talk and exchange giftshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

Despite the comradery of the opposing armies in 1914, there would be no subsequent truces. High command strongly disliked the unofficial ceasefire, and the continued devastation embittered soldiers from all sides.

Even in 1914, there were many soldiers who did not participate; in fact, only about one hundred thousand of the 1.2 million participated in the truce. In spite of the fleeting nature of the truce, I think it still illustrates something important about both humanity and the season.

People are good, and can and will make peace or find happiness even in the harshest of conditions and most hostile situations. The winter only augments this truth, as it is a time of togetherness, forgiveness, peace, and love.

No matter who you are or what you believe in, the winter is a time to embrace your fellow man and make peace, not war.