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What
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Santa Claus is the jolly old man in the red suit who brings Christmas cheer to the world every year. Children listen for sleigh bells and sneak out of bed to spy with the hope of seeing the smiling face above the white beard... and perhaps adding a forgotten wish or two to their lists. As they grow older, kids learn that Santa is only for the littlest ones and grown ups don't believe in the story. They know better...or do they? Who is it that delivers Christmas toys, clothes and baskets of food to families who are facing hard times? When children are faced with a sad Christmas, somehow Santa manages to kindle the spirit of love and good will in strangers. You may not see a white beard or reindeer, but the jolly old man is making Christmas miracles happen. My grandfather was alive during World War I. The only experience he shared with us from that time was the story of how Santa Claus stopped the war for Christmas. He was in the trenches in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, in Belgium... on Christmas Eve. He was only twenty. Like most of the German, French and British soldiers, he was young and frightened. Far from home and family, the Christmas wish of all the soldiers was to survive the day. As the evening before Christmas deepened into night, the guns fell silent. A strange feeling came over the men sitting in the muddy, cold trenches. Some brought out small decorations they had hidden away in the hope of having some sort of Christmas in the middle of the fighting. Small pine trees were set out and candles brightened the night. Hand drawn children's pictures sent from home were hung instead of garlands, but the love that these humble gifts held filled the night air. The quiet was broken by a harmonica playing softly. To the young German playing the carol, it was the music of Stille Nacht — the English troops knew the song as Silent Night.
A voice joined in, then another. Soon a whole chorus of men were singing. Songs of peace on earth and goodwill to all men transformed the battlefield. This most unlikely Christmas choir sang in different languages, but the songs were the same. They all held hopes for peace and longing for Christmas in the homes that might never be seen again. A moving light appeared in the no-man's-land between the trenches. Soldiers, who had been shooting at each other hours before, climbed out of their muddy holes and mingled together sharing food and drink saved for a taste of home on Christmas Day. Enemies until that moment, they laughed and sang together for one night sharing the miracle of peace if only for a few hours. During the strange truce, friends who had fallen in the battle were buried and prayed over by both sides. Afterwards, a few energetic soldiers played soccer in the dark... As dawn brightened the sky, the men parted. They returned to their trenches and the reality of war, but all of them took away a new spirit from that place. My grandfather learned that there really was a Santa Claus that night. Even in the bloody fields of war he brings the peace of Christmas to those who believe. As long as my Opa lived, he never stopped believing... The
youngest children may wait for a sleigh and reindeer, but as we grow up we learn
that we are all Santa's elves. Each one of us hold the promise of a Christmas
miracle and the ability to bring peace and joy to the world if we just believe... Read more about the Christmas Truce on the Web... Lyrics to Christmas in the Trenches Christmas In The Trenches Prophet In Fields Where They Lay - tickets in the New York area for the play - Friday, December 11, 2009 through Saturday, January 02, 2010
also see -> Christmas Attractions | Christmas Chocolate
Christmas
Cookie Recipes | Christmas
Party Ideas
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