The Christmas Truce of 1914
It was World War 1 on the Western Front. Trench warfare had left all the soldiers cold, wet, hungry, and homesick. The mood lifted ever so slightly on Christmas Eve. A song arose from the German trenches. 'Silent Night'. The British recognized the tune, and began to join in. All evening there was no gunfire, just Christmas carols sung in a harmony of English and German, both forces weary and glad for a peaceful sound amidst the violence of the war.
When Christmas morning rolled around, soldiers cautiously emerged from their trenches, to ask for a ceasefire for the day. Both sides wished to take time to bury their casualties, and rebuild trenches. On at least one of the sections of the frontline, the two forces met in the middle of no man’s land, shaking hands, exchanging items, and communicating as well as possible. Many accounts from the day share how astounding it was; that they were shooting at each other just hours earlier, and now laughing and celebrating Christmas together. While this truce was not shared across the whole of the western front, there were certainly pockets of Christmas cheer and friendship in the face of such violence and hatred. Some diaries and letters from the day even mention dancing and kicking around a soccer ball. As Christmas Day drew to a close, the two forces shook hands, and went back to their trenches to start the war up again the next day.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 is truly a testament to the phrase, ‘Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men’, even if only for a day.
Reindeer
Reindeer, especially Rudolf, are very heavily involved in American Christmas traditions and culture, but why? Robert May was working at Montgomery Ward as an advertising copywriter when his boss asked him to write a children’s book that they could give out during the holidays. Robert took his daughter to the zoo to decide what animal to write about, and when he saw how much she loved the deer, he knew it had to be a reindeer. As he tried to think of ideas, he sat in his office and it began to get foggy outside. All of a sudden he had his story! Santa would need a light to be able to see on a foggy Christmas eve, and Rudolph would save the day! From that moment on Rudolph and the other reindeer have been a part of Christmas. In some parts of the world however, reindeer are a part of regular life! They live in cold, harsh climates like Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia, and they have two layers of thick fur, a dense coat underneath, and a top layer of hollow hair to provide insulation. Both male and female reindeer have antlers, and in some parts of the world, being a reindeer herder is a very important job. Reindeer eat grass and other plants, and enjoy the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom. It has been suspected that the reindeer’s love for that particular plant is how the story of flying reindeer originated. Whether that theory is true or not, I hope you learned something about reindeer this Christmas eve, and remember to leave them a snack tonight for all their hard work!
Christmas Lights
As you drive around this holiday season, you probably notice many different lights. Lights on houses, Christmas trees, or even a festive light display set up in a park! These lights are beautiful, but have you ever wondered why lights are such a big part of Christmas? The use of Christmas lights began in Germany in the 17th century. People would attach candles to their Christmas trees using wax or pins, and the purpose of the lights was to see the ornaments on the tree better. While this made the tree all that much nicer, it was not particularly safe. In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and shortly after, in 1880, created the first string of electric lights. This paved the way for progressively brighter Christmases through the years, beginning with the First electrically lighted Christmas tree in New York City in 1882. Strings of Christmas lights were available commercially by 1890, and this year, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in New York will have 50,000 multi-colored LED lights adorning its branches. Estimates say that the cost of electricity to run the Rockefeller tree lights throughout the season is around $73,000. Even more impressive, though, is the Guinness World Record for most lights on a residential Christmas Tree. This record is held by a family in Australia, at 518,838 lights, beating Clark Griswold by 493,838 lights. I wonder how their neighbors felt about all that illumination. All in all, enjoy the Christmas lights this holiday season, they sure have evolved since the 17th century.
Norad Santa Tracker
Before 1955, we had no way of knowing where Santa was on his route, but now, thanks to the Norad Santa Tracker, we can follow his journey delivering presents! In 1955, a child tried to call Santa’s number that had been printed in a local newspaper. However, they accidentally misdialed and got a hold of Air Force colonel Harry Shoup at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs. Colonel Shoup assured the child that they would make sure Santa had a safe flight, and they have done so since 1955. In 1958, NORAD was formed in place of CONAD, and they took over the very important job of watching out for Santa. Today you can track Santa at noradsanta.org, or call or email the many volunteers that pitch in on Christmas Eve to ensure Santa’s safe journey. These volunteers receive more than 13,000 calls each year, and the website gets fifteen million visitors from over 200 countries around the world. If it wasn't for a misdialed number and a good-spirited colonel, this program would likely not exist, but it is now one of the Department of Defense’s largest Community outreach programs!
Christmas Trees
Christmas Trees are one of the most recognizable marks of the Holiday season, but there was a time when cutting down a tree for decoration, specifically in the White House, was facing opposition due to environmental concerns. Roosevelt was known for his love of conservation and the environment, and throughout his presidency, established approximately 230 million acres of public lands, including 150 national forests, 55 federal bird reservations and game preserves, and 5 national parks. Many people at the time believed that cutting down trees for Christmas was destructive, and that it was hurting the forests. Roosevelt’s sons Archie and Quentin, however, could not help themselves, and cut down their own small tree from the edge of the White House lawn. They then enlisted the help of the White House electrician to illuminate the tree, and hid it in the seamstress closet until Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, after opening presents, they unveiled the tree! Roosevelt was not very happy at the sight, and called Mr. Pinchot, the government’s chief forester, to educate the boys on why cutting down trees was bad for the environment. Mr. Pinchot, however, sided with the boys, and explained that clearing out the larger trees to make room for the smaller trees to grow was actually a good thing! Now, the White House has a large Christmas Tree delivered every year. This year’s tree is an 18 ½ foot Fraser Fir from Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in North Carolina.
Listen to these Christmas Stories Here: https://youtu.be/RVEyUGUZ3jQ
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