Christmas in the Trenches We first published this reflection by
Jim Wallis in 2002. It has since become our Christmas tradition,
kind of our own Charlie Brown Christmas special, if you will.
With the ongoing conflicts raging during each passing year, it
remains tragically relevant. Take Action on This Issue Silent
Night, by Stanley Weintraub, is the story of Christmas Eve,
1914, on the World War I battlefield in Flanders. As the German,
British, and French troops facing each other were settling in
for the night, a young German soldier began to sing "Stille
Nacht, Heilige Nacht." Others joined in. When they had finished,
the British and French responded with other Christmas carols.
Eventually, the men from both sides left their trenches and met
in the middle. They shook hands, exchanged gifts, and shared
pictures of their families. Informal soccer games began in what
had been "no-man's-land." And a joint service was held to bury
the dead of both sides. The generals, of course, were not
pleased with these event