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Naperville
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Another Silent Night

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World War 1 began on June 28, 1914, when Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated. In the book Silent Night, the assertion is made that the young soldiers believed it would be a six-week war and they would be home by Christmas. Instead, those serving on the Western Front found themselves sitting in muddy trenches with only 100 to 150 yards separating them from the enemy.

The German Army was well trained. German men were regularly called up for compulsory military training. Many of them could speak English because before the war they had been working as waiters, taxi drivers and barbers in England.

The British Army had volunteers that were less trained. They were also a more diverse group that included the Garhwal Rifles comprised of Indian infantry men. In 1914, India was part of the British Empire. Each group was assigned a specific sector along the Western Front.

As Christmas approached, soldiers received packages from home. The Princess of England sent tins of plum pudding and the German soldiers received salami and other Christmas treats from home. As Christmas approached, leaders of both armies warned that there would not be any fraternization with the enemy, but that rule was hard to enforce along the entire battle front.

The Germans were determined to observe some Christmas traditions and started putting Christmas trees with candles in their parapets. At night they started singing “Tannenbaum” and “Stille Nacht (Silent Night).” The troops started exchanging songs. A German concert virtuoso, a talented French harmonica player and a singer from the Paris Opera were all serving along the Front Line.

After a night of exchanging songs, a British officer asked for a ceasefire in order to retrieve the bodies of the dead from “no man’s land” for a proper burial. Soldiers started yelling to each other and throwing gifts of pudding and salamis to each other. Members of the Garhwal Rifles were not Christians and didn’t fully understand what was happening, but the lights on the trees in the parapets reminded them of the Diwali festival. Diwali means row of lights. (During the recent Nov. 19 City Council meeting, 40 organizers of the Sewa Diwali Food Drive were recognized with a Mayoral Proclamation.)

Along sections of the frontline, enemies crossed over no-man’s land to celebrate Christmas and even enjoyed a game of football instead of exchanging bullets. It was the foot soldiers who created a Christmas truce. Many years later soldiers who participated in that unofficial truce would remark about the magic of sharing the Christmas spirit with the enemy that year. It was never duplicated in 1915, 1916 or 1917. The agreement to cease fighting was official on November 11, 1918.

May all the citizens of Naperville find some seasonal magic this month.

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Sue Jelinek
Sue Jelinek
Sue Jelinek welcomes story ideas from ship to shore. Contact her at jelinst@sbcglobal.net.

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