World War I began in July of 1914. Many thought the war would be over in a very short period of time, but it raged on and thousands lost their lives. Some asked for a truce on Christmas day in 1914, those in charge declined. But nonetheless, a miracle happened, guns were laid aside and opposing sides came together, offering gifts of food, cigarettes and cigars. It is believed that even a game of soccer was played. As the day drew to a close, the soldiers returned to their foxholes and once again picked up their guns and the war raged on.
As our priest told the story, the thought that occurred to me was, what if they had refused to fight? What if the soldiers who came together had laid down their guns and refused to go on?
As I thought more, I thought of the guns and the wars that we fight in our daily lives. What are those guns? They are jealousy, prejudices, anger, unforgiveness, spite...and the list goes on. What if we were to lay these guns aside? What if????
Mother of Reinvention commented that an ad was made, telling the this story. She said that it received some rather negative press.
Dagmar sent the link and I think it's well worth seeing, so I have included it in this post.
Thank you, Rhonda, for taking time to share this. What if, indeed..
ReplyDeleteLovely. Thank you. Our pastor played a clip of the "Christmas Truce" as well... very touching.
ReplyDeleteIf only that were the case, Rhonda. However, I think human nature gets in the way. This is a beautiful tale. So sad that they went back to killing each other. Thos story was used in a big supermarket's Christmas advert here. They got a lot of stick for it. Xx
ReplyDeleteThis whole idea really struck me. Maybe it has a lot to do with all that has been going on in America lately. It's a resolution that I want to work on this year. Interestingly enough though, it's not easy. The other day, I was driving on the highway and a man cut me off and would not allow me to merge into traffic. He could have moved over and let me in, but didn't. My first reaction was to race up beside him, honk and glare and then I remembered. So I just let it go.
DeleteHi Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteMy son sent me this link just before Christmas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM). It is the YouTube of the Sainsbury ad that was made based on the story your priest related to you. I live in Canada, but I believe Sainsbury is a large British grocery chain.
Watching this ad brought tears to my eyes and raised many of the questions you are thinking of in today's post...
Thank you for the link. I've included the video in the post as I think it is well worth seeing.
DeleteYes it is worth seeing...Kleenex or Puffs needed.
ReplyDelete