Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Silent Night with Soccer

If there be any doubt of the power of music, consider the Christmas Truce of 1914.

After rushing to war in a spirit of carnival, the armies of World War I found themselves in a world of misery. The war officially started on August 1st. By September, trenches had been dug and "no man's land" had been established.

The horrors of trench warfare were legion. "No man's land" was the space, sometimes as little as 30 yards, between the opposing trenches. This space was filled with irretrievable corpses. Any soldier who attempted to enter "no man's land" was cut down by machine gun fire.

On the night of December 24th, 1914 a strange thing happened in Flanders. Friendly voices called out from both sides and then the sound of men singing Christmas carols began to fill the air.

According to firstworldwar.com, at one point in the trenches, the Germans managed to slip a chocolate cake into the British line with a message proposing a concert at 7:30 pm. The British accepted and at the appointed hour, the Germans began to sing. The Germans invited the British to sing with them.

One English soldier yelled, "We'd rather die than sing in German."

A German soldier replied, "It would kill us if you did."

Christmas spirit was present. A soccer match was played in "no man's land" during the truce and the Germans won 3-2.

In a rare moment, a group of people at war decided that singing and playing together was more important than other considerations. Some soldiers defied direct orders to reengage the enemy.

I can't find any accounts of the actual carols that were sung but the Germans must have sang Stille Nacht at some point that night.

Silent night. Holy night.

All is calm. All is bright.

Round yon virgin, mother and child.

Holy Infant so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2CHfZ9NP8k&feature=related

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night

If there be any doubt of the power of music, consider the Christmas Truce of 1914.

After rushing to war in a spirit of carnival, the armies of World War I found themselves in a world of misery. The war officially started on August 1st. By September, trenches had been dug and "no man's land" had been established.

The horrors of trench warfare were legion. "No man's land" was the space, sometimes as little as 30 yards, between the opposing trenches. This space was filled with irretrievable corpses. Any soldier who attempted to enter "no man's land" was cut down by machine gun fire.

On the night of December 24th, 1914 a strange thing happened in Flanders. Friendly voices called out from both sides and then the sound of men singing Christmas carols began to fill the air.

According to firstworldwar.com, at one point in the trenches, the Germans managed to slip a chocolate cake into the British line with a message proposing a concert at 7:30 pm. The British accepted and at the appointed hour, the Germans began to sing. The Germans invited the British to sing with them.

One English soldier yelled, "We'd rather die than sing in German."

A German soldier replied, "It would kill us if you did."

Christmas spirit was present. A soccer match was played in "no man's land" during the truce and the Germans won 3-2.

In a rare moment, a group of people at war decided that singing and playing together was more important than other considerations. Some soldiers defied direct orders to reengage the enemy.

I can't find any accounts of the actual carols that were sung but the Germans must have sang Stille Nacht at some point that night.

Silent night. Holy night.

All is calm. All is bright.

Round yon virgin, mother and child.

Holy Infant so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2CHfZ9NP8k&feature=related

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Land of Mine is terse, tense, and terrific

Moving mine movie
Next Article

Professional Carolers

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader