News and Notes

100 years ago, the guns stopped. After months of bloodshed, soldiers on the Western Front had a moment of peace. They opened packages sent from home. Letters and sweets were passed back and forth.

Not only did hostilities cease, but along sections of the front lines, opposing forces emerged from the trenches to meet each other in no man’s land.  Some groups sang carols and decorated trees. Others held religious services. Still others played football together. This was the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, the culmination of many weeks of unofficial ceasefires between opposing camps.