Christmas — Good Will To Man
Christmas Eve has finally arrived.
Later this evening children will be tucked into bed, trying desperately to sleep before the arrival of Santa Claus.
Tomorrow morning will involve the unwrapping of presents and watching as joy is spread between families and friends.
In today’s modern times, it’s easy to forget just how fortunate we are to be able to celebrate such a holiday. Here in the U.S., times are peaceful. It’s not like artillery barrages are flattening buildings, or massive armies of soldiers are sweeping through the countryside, killing everybody who stands in the way.
One of my favorite examples of humanity and the Christmas spirit dates back to December 25, 1914 in Belgium.
From August through December of 1914, the world cringed at the carnage and utter destruction of the first few months of the First World War. The German juggernaut army had swept through most of Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan and was well on its way to Paris when it was finally stopped by the French and British troops. In eastern Europe, the Austrian and Hungarian forces were engaged with the Serbians, and the remainder of the German troops took on the overwhelming might of the Russian empire.
In particular, the fighting around Ypres and Flanders Fields in western Belgium saw some of the fiercest fighting and most horrific conditions as the Germans battled the Entente Forces, each side launching attacks and counterattacks over and over for control of the area. Both sides dug into the earth and used trenches for not only superior defensive positions, but also for housing, communications, and even field hospitals. Artillery bombardments flattened and obliterated anything and everything left unprotected by a hardened shelter.
By the time fighting in western Belgium calmed for the winter, and the rain and mud turned into snow and frozen soil, both sides had suffered from massive casualties. The British and French each lost about fifty thousand men, and the Germans lost at least one hundred thousand casualties. Keep in mind that this particular western Belgian campaign in the Great War lasted just over a month.
With all of that carnage and the loss of so many soldiers, one would imagine that each side hated the other with such passion that they would never talk to the opponent, let alone venturing out into No Man’s Land in broad daylight, right?
Not exactly.
In one of the most surprising displays of humanity in the middle of extreme horror and devastation, many places along the Western Front had an unofficial truce and ceasefire for Christmas. Soldiers from both sides sang carols and songs on Christmas morning, and during the day the British, German and even French soldiers walked into No Man’s Land between the trenches and greeted each other, exchanging souvenirs and cigarettes and even playing friendly games of soccer.
British and German troops in Belgium — Christmas Truce of 1914
You have to remember that the soldiers on both sides were young men doing their jobs. They followed their orders and did their best to stay alive and be able to someday return home. The conditions were barbaric, the artillery bombardments were nightmarish, and the infantry and bayonet charges into machine gun fire were horrific, just shy of suicidal. And through all of that slaughter and horrific loss of limbs and life achieved from a few months of all-out war, the soldiers came out of their trenches and celebrated Christmas with the opposition.
Of course, this fraternization with the enemy was frowned upon and later stopped by commanders on both sides, and Christmases throughout the remainder of the First World War were not nearly as memorable as the Christmas of 1914.
“Snoopy’s Christmas” by Royal Guardsman
All of this World War 1 and Christmas talk reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas songs — “Snoopy’s Christmas.” This fantastic song tells the tale of ace pilot Snoopy and his aerial battle with the legendary Red Baron. Just when Snoopy is forced to land and thinks that he’s finished, the Red Baron shows a humane gesture, wishes him a merry Christmas, and allows Snoopy to fly home and seek his battle another day.
Washington Crossing the Delaware — December 25, 1776
Of course, when talking about extraordinary events that took place on Christmas, one cannot forget about General Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776, leading his men on a surprise attack on Hessian troops in nearby Trenton, New Jersey. The battle-weary and ragtag group of American soldiers achieved a complete victory, taking the enemy troops by surprise and capturing key ammunition and provisions along with about a thousand prisoners.
The Trenton attack was a daring operation and helped pave the way for future success by General Washington and the ultimate American victory in the Revolutionary War.
Earthrise during Apollo 8 mission — December 24, 1968
Jumping ahead nearly 200 years, one of the most significant Christmas events in modern times took place in 1968 with the mission of Apollo 8.
In a display of incredible bravery and a combination of American and German engineering, American astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders became the first men to not only leave Earth orbit, but also orbit the Moon and return home safely.
After 69 hours into the spaceflight, the Apollo 8 crew initiated an engine burn that lasted for four minutes and thirteen seconds. Any sort of engineering or orientation error would have placed the spacecraft into an elliptical lunar orbit, or even be flung off on an inescapable flight into outer space. As we know, the engine burn was successful and the daring astronauts were able to orbit the Moon, complete their mission objectives and pave the way for Apollo 11’s historic lunar landing.
Had it not been for the successful Christmas mission of Apollo 8, the remainder of the Apollo flights would have been postponed and it’s debatable whether NASA would be able to land a man on the Moon by the end of 1969 as challenged by President John F. Kennedy.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
“Christmas bells those Christmas bells;
Ringing through the land.
Bringing peace to all the world;
And good will to man.”