This Christmas is the 100th Anniversary of the Christmas Truce of World War I.
An estimated 100,000 British and German soldiers unofficially ceased hostilities along the Western Front leading up to and including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914.
Christmas greetings were exchanged, as well as food and souvenirs among the combatants. Even games of football broke out among the two sides in no-man’s land.
The truce was widespread, but far from universal, as at least 250 servicemen were killed from both sides on Christmas Day of 1914. By 1916, the bitter war, mounting deaths and introduction of mustard gas would eliminate any desire for a truce.
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