Not All Of The Soldiers Were Down For Christmas Cheer
Of course, as you might imagine, there were some soldiers who took the war very seriously, and they were not in the mood to party or have any sort of armistice at all. Not everyone was excited to put down their weapons and show a sign of peace towards the men who were just trying to kill them only a day earlier. Several regiments up and down the Western front continued to battle, and the Belgian and French soldiers refused to acknowledge that Christmas was different than any other day of the year. Even in the midst of the parties, many soldiers opted to bury their dead, fortify the trenches, and even scope out enemy supplies. The Bavarian troops stopped to listen to Christmas mass, but then moved on to their regular duties.
Not every regiment along the British front lines decided to part in the truce, of course. And some of the brave men who tried to wave the proverbial white flag were gunned down before a party could even get started. But for those that decided to put down their weapons, they were able to see that the light of human compassion can shine through, even in the darkest moments. These beautiful memories of that Christmas lived on in the minds of the soldiers forever. After the war was over, a monument to remember that day was erected in Frelinghien, France.
Even though the story is fondly remembered today, army leadership did not want the stories of this party to get out. Whenever soldiers wrote about it in letters to their loved ones, the letters were intercepted before they could be made public. After the war was over, however, many of the men told their families, and the letters about the day written by Sir Edward Hulse, the 7th Baronet were published after his death. This gave the full details of the Christmas Truce. Once the word got out, the story was incorporated into dozens of books, movies, TV shows, and even commercials. It still goes down in history as being one of the most well-loved European stories of World War I.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
December 24, 1914: The Christmas Truce. Daven Hiskey. TodayIFoundOut. 2012.
The Christmas Truce. Wikipedia.
Look Inside the Princess Mary Gift Fund 1914 Box. Fergus Read. IWM.Org. 2018.
WWI: Christmas Truce: Silent Night. Extra History. YouTube. 2017.