A Christmas Truce
Less than six months after the start of WWI, members of the British Expeditionary Force heard an unusual sound coming from the enemy trenches; it was Christmas Eve 1914, and the German troops were singing Christmas carols, and patriotic songs. Lit by small lanterns, the German soldiers were seen gathering around miniature fir trees, attempting to find a small measure of joy amid the destruction and death that had come from fighting over yards of ground. The British forces were captivated by what they were witnessing and spontaneously began to shout messages back to the Germans; the interaction between the two sides continued most of the night.
The next day, an unsanctioned, impromptu gathering occurred in “no man’s land” as both sides climbed out of their trenches to shake hands, exchange small gifts, talk, and even play games; they also took time to collect injured soldiers who had been left behind, and to bury their dead. News of the isolated truce was not well received by the military leadership, on either side, as they worried the soldiers would lose their fighting spirit—orders were issued by both armies against future truces; not to worry, the next day the fighting resumed. In fact, in the four years that followed the Christmas truce of 1914, over nine million soldiers would die fighting the war.
Over the years, the truce has been written about and memorialized in movies and plays. It is always portrayed as the miracle moment when humanity spoke loudest, and death took a back seat. I admit, thinking of that night and the event that occurred is interesting, but I don’t think it is the most interesting point. To me, what I find fascinating is that after that profound human moment; in fact, within hours of peace, both sides regained their anger and fought; fought with intensity, unleashing a bloody four years to follow. When you think about it, what is more compelling, that they stopped fighting for a moment to celebrate Christmas, or that they picked up arms the next day and tried to kill each other again?
What allows someone to embrace peace for a split moment, only to quickly reject it? I don’t know, maybe it is pure patriotism; maybe it is something else. I am not advocating that people, and a country, shouldn’t fight for what they believe in; some causes are worthy; I am just wondering whether anyone on the Western front recognized the inconsistency of this twenty-four-hour period. Diagnosing why they acted the way they did is not the point; I am more interested in what it says about humans and our ability to function on different levels. It is quite a powerful switch to be able to emotionally meet in the middle of a battlefield peacefully, and then when the sun comes up, try to kill the same person you embraced the day before.
The range of a human’s ability to compartmentalize their feelings and actions captures my interest more than it used to; it seems to me; people segregate how they act all the time; they likely always have. In my view, love, compassion, empathy, and good tidings are present in most people and readily accessible, but equally present is the other side. I have watched people demonstrate kindness in how they talk to a stranger they meet, and a moment later disdain for a homeless person who could use a friend; I have done it myself. The question I have begun to wonder about is why. Are we inherently comfortable with inconsistent behavior and its consequences, or are we blind to how our actions don’t always add up?
I understand humans are fallible, we are imperfect in so many ways; that will never change but isn’t it true we are also capable of more than we seem to demonstrate. We have been blessed with a brain, which provides the ability to reason and think, we are free to choose our actions, and we are able to control our actions. We are also able to act irrationally; not everything we do is consistent, nor a reflection of who we think we are.
Do you feel like society is teaching us to easily contradict ourselves; one moment we are kind, the next hateful? Maybe it isn’t society, maybe this is intrinsic in all people and always has been, we find a cause or a belief we connect with and that overrides our core thoughts, and we act out. In the case of the combatants during WWI, the British and Germans were representing their culture and country, and yet, they were also human beings who showed, at least on that day, they didn’t want to kill the other side; but it didn’t last.
Tomorrow those of us who are blessed will gather with family and friends; we will laugh, talk, sing songs, exchange gifts and promise ourselves that we will carry forward our Christmas spirit of joy and peace into the future. How long will it last? How long will we embrace the spirit of Christmas in our lives?
It is a strange dichotomy, our holiday spirit and the way we live almost every other day. Although you can’t draw a direct comparison between most of our lives and those of the soldiers on that cold December day one hundred and ten years ago today, it is analogous. For a time, most people will lay down their guard and think lovingly about the world; alas most will also quickly go back to their tough exterior, fraught with more anger than we should have.
I believe, passionately, that some things are worth fighting for, and we are blessed those young men fought to beat the aggressor during WWI. But not everything is worth fighting for; tribalism can’t justify a struggle about every little thing. At least it can’t be for me; what about you?
In two days, Christmas will be behind me and thankfully I can stop listening to Christmas music; two months is long enough. Without the expectation of how to act, and the spirit of Christmas behind me, how will I live? Will I choose to go back to doing what I was doing before; like the soldiers in the trenches, will I march forward ready to ignore a deeper awareness of needed kindness?
As in most cases, it isn’t fruitful to point out the inconsistencies in another person; I am not sure what can be gained from that exercise. What does seem productive is to look at what we believe, and what we do. The soldiers on that fateful day didn’t want to fight; I don’t know maybe their desire was only to have one day without war, or maybe it was bigger, maybe they didn’t want to fight at all. Regardless, they left a story that has been retold countless times about the soldiers who laid down their guns to celebrate Christmas, only to pick them up the next day and seemingly ignore the message that Christmas teaches.
Of note, only four soldiers who participated in the truce; survived the war.
As Americans we are not locked in a mortal battle for our security. We live in a prosperous country with unlimited gifts; we are truly blessed. So much so, we should endeavor to make more out of Christmas than a one-day truce of kindness and caring; we should work to ensure the Christmas spirit and message survives beyond the weekend and offers a guide of consistency that honors the birth we celebrate.
