A Christmas Gift

I think about the battle scars of every Invisible Warrior in the world. How their victimization

revisits them at inopportune times throughout the years. Their dreams turn to nightmares, and their thoughts press on them until the weight is almost unbearable. Freedom from PTSD, and MST always seems impossible. My wish, or prayer for them is that something miraculous would intercede on their behalf. Something would chase the spirit of evil from their lives, that accuses, shames, and enrages them with a force too powerful to overcome at times. This Christmas I want for them a moment of victory from an enemy of injustice, and inhumanity. I reflect on a story of how it is possible to know peace in the strangest of places.

All Is Calm

Christmas In The Trenches

December 24th-- It was Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve, 1914. There had been no peace on Earth. In fact just the opposite. This was just 5 months into the first World War of the Twentieth Century: Germany against the forces of France, Britain, and Belgium on a thin strip of land known as the Western Front. They had been told in August of that year that all would be home by Christmas. And here they were.  In trenches suffering from hunger, exhaustion, cold, and trench foot. With the promise of Christmas at home with loved ones a world away; men looking at pictures of wives, sweethearts, and family; longing for a little touch of home while the cold night stabs them with a sober reality that there would be no Christmas for them.
The young British troops and their allies were determined to stay mindful of their enemy. It did no good to drift off into thoughts of bright Christmas lights, carolers, sweet desserts, and a roaring fire. Those soft thoughts could spell doom for a weary soldier. Don't give into the homesickness or I am doomed like the fallen soldiers whose bodies strewn the battle field.

"I hear singing!"

Someone whispered, "It's midnight-- Christmas is here." No one else muttered a word at that point. They just leaned against the wall with heads turned up towards the heavens; they listened for sounds-- any sounds. Then murmuring. But they could not make it out.  It was coming from the direction of the Germans. "Ya here that?" they strain to make out the sounds. "What are they saying?" The noise grew a little louder. "Wait--" one French officer paused.  "They're not talking-- They're singing." Murmuring rose from the allies. "Singing?--" Out here?" Shhhh!!! a British officer demanded.  "Listen!" They all paused for a moment. Now the singing was louder and the tune more distinct."--Hey, that's Silent Night."  It's got to be a trick, they said to each other. But as the singing continued they listen, and despite the German translation, the allies recognized the melody.

"Stille Nacht heilige Nacht 

alles ruhig alles ist hell,

 rund Jungfrau, Mutter und Kind..."

Enemies Sing In Unison

The English and their comrades, felt their resistance to join in slowly fading. First, one, then another, then more soldiers joined the chorus. At times through out the night it seem like the husky voices were a choir of one. Unified with the songs of home. Universal in the melodies of the season.

"...Sleep in Heavenly peace-- sleep in heavenly peace."

The British boys and their allies continued to warm their hands by the fire. Partially cautious and at the same time abandoned to the idea that someone had brought a little caroling to this bleak and deserted place known as "No Mans Land". The sentries still looking about for some ambush by the Germans, were singing with hands clutched their rifles peering into the unknown.

Do You See What I See?

A Lone German Corporal  

Song after song the men continued. Sometimes repeating them several times until their voices dry and parched became still as the earliest hint of dawn broke through the fog laden ruins. Then a British sentry saw a figure in the distance. He became alert as the figure walked through the foggy haze. Now other sentries with rifles took aim straining to see in the distance. One lone German soldier, a Gerfreiter had dared to come out of the trenches with something in his hand. The British, French and Belgium sentries all paused in amazement. "Hold your fire!" The British Captain ordered. He gestured to a British corporal, "Come with me soldier." Both men slowly approached their adversary with guns covering them from their barricade.  "What's that he got, sir?" The Captain walking in a deliberate cadence replied, "I guess were about the find out, Corporal." The Captain looking long and hard remarked, "It appears that our friend has brought us a Christmas tree." Sure enough, the pale lean German corporal was clutching a scraggly pine tree. They wondered if he had gone stir crazy. And yet his gesture seemed to symbolized the spirit of the season perhaps of a truce. Coming face to face with this young man, it was obvious that there was no fight in him. The young German's face broke out into a nervous smile, as he sat the tree down, and faced the British soldiers with a look of earnestness. This stunned everyone looking on. The young German speaking a few indistinguishable words took the British corporals hand and shook it. The young Brit trooper partly dazed by what was happening realized that his adversary was delivering a Christmas wish. Other German soldiers popped their heads up over their barricades waving their hands and shouting something in German.

"Christmas In This God-Forsaken Place"

The young English soldier looked at the strange sight. His  captain who was an onlooker muttered, "Well I'll be damned!" Christmas in this God-forsaken place. As the two soldiers shook hands, other soldiers from both sides emerged from their opposing trenches-- meeting in the middle of the strip of land that divided them. French soldiers, and German troopers, shaking hands and nodded; "Merry Christmas" which was met with "Joyeux Noël" or "Frohe Weihnachten" They didn't speak the same language but the gestures and smiles were universal. Now some of them seemed to be more like young boys on a school campus, rather than a battlefield. As the exchange of handshaking continued; the men uttered their names to each other. But then the stark reality of their conflict struck again, as they surveyed the landscape of  'No-Mans Land'. Bodies of their fallen comrades were as far as the eye could see.


Quickly two German soldiers hustled back into their

Burying Their Dead

trench. "I knew it," muttered a British soldier. "They going to ambush us!"  Carefully the two German troopers reemerged sticking 2 shovels straight up in the air. Everyone exhaled and understood. These men wanted to help bury the dead. Then two allied commanders ordered their men to follow suit. They hustled into their perspective trenches and brought out shovels as well. Now the group of soldiers digging large graves, placed the dead in these massive holes. German soldiers lifting French and Belgium soldiers and placing them their graves respectfully, while Allied troops as well removed the bodies of German dead, carefully laying them in the holes. Covering the graves with dirt, the men gathered around bowing heads while words were spoken by several of the men from each nation. They uttered some words of comfort and peace to the dead. And with uncovered heads bowed, the area resounded with a single Amen. 

The Exchange Of Tokens

Glad Tidings We Bring

It was now early Christmas Day. The various men sat quietly thinking about their reasons for being in this place. "You'll be back home for Christmas" they had been promised. "You'll win this for the glory of our country--- the enemy will surrender in two months." The thought replaying in their minds. Some of their hearts sank thinking that their families back home unwrapping presents, attending Christmas Mass, and would would be sitting down to a wonderful Christmas feast. Some of them had received packages from home. Gifts of tobacco, candy, letters, and tokens of affection were being shared among each other. In broken English, French and German, they sat and talked. They exchanged sweets, and tobacco and laughed as each showed off pictures of wives, fiances and sweethearts, uttering words like "very pretty!, or "magnifique!" and  "wunderschön!" Rations were exchanged by the English troops, Germans shared ale and other spirits.

Football On The Battleground

This strange fellowship continued  as the sun moved high up over their heads.  No doubt there were a few vigilant souls who scoffed at these events, muttering to themselves,"This is not what we're here for!"  But such grumblings were either squelched or ignored altogether by the majority of the gathering. As the afternoon progressed a German soldier appeared with a soccer ball. It was dark brown made of leather, and they played a game of football which is more similar to soccer than the American version. Laughing, jumping, and falling, this place of combat and destruction was now a field of friendship and merriment.

This Is Our Christmas

One Small Symbol

You could only suppose that the reports back to the HQ from both sides were met with outrage. As each command post bellowed back orders for their troops to get back into their trenches, and resume the conflict. Threats of punishment, and court marshal were mounting from superiors on both sides but ignored. As the English and German field leaders stood next to each other and watched their men at play, they agreed to stall their superiors as long as possible. Finally as the sun began to descend behind the hills, the soldiers gather around their little Christmas tree. They had decorated with whatever they could find, and fastened small candle stumps to the branches, and as darkness fell they lit the candles. They stood amazed staring at this symbol. "This is our peace-- This our Christmas," the Captain said. Then the soldiers began singing one last song.

"O Tannenbaum O Tannenbaum wie true sind deine Blatter!
Du grunst nicht nurzur Sommrzeit Nein auch im Winter wenn es schneit

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, wie treu sind dine Blatter!"

Then a translator from the German troops encourage the English to sing: 

"O Christmas, Tree O Tree,Your branches green delight us!

They are green when summer days delight us

They are green then winters snow is white

O Christmas, Tree O Tree,Your branches green delight us!"

"Yes, peace-- someday!

After a moment of silence the two opposing leaders turned to each other, "I guess the time has come." He said, as they firmly shook the others hand. More hand shaking continued among the enlisted.  The day was done. and everyone would soon return to their respective areas. Until finally there were two left around a burning oil barrel. Their faces glowed as they looked at each other like brothers. These were the two who originally came together, and extended the first handshake. Now it seemed fitting that they were the last to leave. The young Englishman stammered, "well maybe we'll have peace real soon huh?-- Someday?" The German corporal met his gaze. Thinking his friend didn't understand, the Englishman attempted to repeat himself it in German.  "Eines Tages-- Frieden!" The eyes of the young German flashed for a second and then he replied, "Yes, peace-- someday! Both men grinned-- slightly surprised at the others attempt to communicate, gave a final handshake, and headed back to their respective areas.  And like the others, they would never forget how the spirit of the season suspended the time of war. So that peace could visit if only for one Christmas.

My Gift To You

"It's A Wonderful Life!"

When I was a child, all differences in my world ceased during the holiday season. We either said "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or Seasons Greetings!" It was all the same. Santa would come into our churches and greet children. We didn't sit around debating whether Santa, or Jesus was black, or white. Atheists and religious folks would sing both secular and religious songs and we watched Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed combat greed and corruption too, in It's a Wonderful Life. There was a cease fire among humanity about social differences. We embraced (if only for a season) the idea of "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Mankind." There was a universal appeal about this concept that we cherished. But now, brown journalists are saying, "There's a war on Christmas, and we must fight!" And I say that I will not attack another man or woman on how they believe, or how they choose to express their beliefs. My gift to you is this story of a Christmas truce of soldiers who stopped their fighting for the sake of Christmas. Peace, Joy, and Love to you my fellow Invisible Warriors. And a Happy 2014.