On the night of December 24th, 1914, the singing of Christmas carols by German soldiers in the trenches of Ypres, Belgium was answered by British soldiers singing carols. This led to soldiers from both sides exchanging greetings and gifts-whiskey, cigars and chocolate-and allowing for the removal of dead from the battlefield. There are stories about German and British soldiers meeting for drinks and football games. On Christmas Eve of 1915 French and German soldiers called a similiar truce to enjoy Christmas. Officers of both sides disapproved; they ordered "bombardments on Christmas Eve, to nip any detente in the bud". These events are the subject of a play in NYC showing this week thru January 2nd at the Hudson Guild Theatre on 26th Street.
(Source: "Play pays Christmas more than lip service" by Jim Beckerman of The Record. Dec 6, 2009).
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