Christmas Eve, 1914 The Christmas Truce of 1914 occurred when men on both sides of the trenches stopped

fighting and held spontaneous Christmas celebrations. Men on both sides of the trenches astonished their commanding officers and themselves as well. No official truce was declared, but more than 100,000 British and Germans troops participated in the unofficial truce along the length of the Western Front. The Truce began with Christmas carols. German troops around Ypres, Belgium, put candlelit Christmas trees on the trench parapets and sang Stille Nacht Silent Night. In the trenches near Ploegstreert Wood at 11:00 p.m., which was midnight in Berlin, Germany, a booming baritone voice began singing Stille Nacht. The British and French soldiers listened and then responded with carols of their own. Then they shouted Christmas greetings to each other. Gradually men on both sides of the trenches put down their arms and created spontaneous Christmas celebrations. Their officers ordered the men to keep shooting, but the truce spread all up and down the front lines. Men climbed from the trenches to shake hands in No Mans Land. They shared food packages from home, traded gifts and souvenirs such as buttons and hats, ate and drank together, and played soccer. They talked to each other about everyday things like food and home and family. Christmas Day, 1914 On Christmas morning soldiers sang Christmas carols and sign boards dotted the trenches. Since more German soldiers spoke English than English soldiers spoke German, the sign boards were written mostly in English. Sometimes the English was simple, like You no fight, we no fight. Men exchanged cigarettes, chocolates, cakes, sausages and the Germans in one sector even rolled out a barrel of beer into the middle of No-Mans land to share with the British and French. The truce also allowed burial parties to safely retrieve recently fallen soldiers and bring them back behind their lines. Soldiers from both sides held joint services for their fallen comrades and soldiers from both sides wiped tears from their eyes and tried to grasp the enormity of it all. Bruce Bairnsfather, who fought throughout the war, recalled one of his last memories of the day.... The last I saw was one of my machine gunners, who was a bit of an amateur hairdresser in civil life, cutting the unnaturally long hair of a docile Boche, who was patiently kneeling on the ground whilst the automatic clippers crept up the back of his neck. In many sectors the Christmas 1914 Truce lasted through Christmas night and in others it lasted until New Years Day. Although many soldiers observed the truce, it turned out to be fatal decision for some as some soldiers still shot each other.