On December 24th, 1914, during the first year of World War I, British and German troops were entrenched against each other in bitter fighting and cold. The gun play died down that night. Soon, a British sentry reported to his superior officer that the Germans were doing something odd – each soldier was lighting a candle and placing it on a pole or bayonet. Soon all of the German soldiers had candles…some of them had small evergreen branches as well. The British held their fire.
In the stillness of the night, a song could be heard, sung in German. As the British soldiers gathered the tune, they began singing along in English. Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm.