For two wonderful days in December 1914 during World War I, the guns fell silent and tired soldiers on both sides of the conflict crawled out of their trenches to shake hands with combatants on the other side and celebrate Christmas.
English, French, and German soldiers came together in a spontaneous moment to eat dinner, sing Christmas carols and even play soccer.
The informal cease-fire was dubbed the "Christmas Truce."
Though the truce didn't last long --- the war resumed and dragged on for another four years --- the Christmas Truce is long remembered as a special moment in history, when the killing stopped and there was a glimmer of hope that a brutal conflict could somehow be brought to an end.
Now, peace advocates in the US and abroad are urging that a Christmas Truce be called in the Ukraine War, also a brutal conflict that has left 200,000 Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed or injured in just nine months.
"The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a symbol of hope and courage, when the people of warring countries organized an armistice on their own authority and joined in a spontaneous act of reconciliation and fraternization," said a statement by CODE Pink, an anti-war organization based in Washington, D.C.
"In this same spirit, we ask you to join us in urging President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and congressional representatives to support the International Peace Bureau's call for a Christmas Truce in Ukraine," the statement said.
"A truce --- a moment of holiday peace --- could pave the way for negotiations to reach a lasting security agreement to end the bloodshed once and for all."
A petition has been set up on the CODE Pink website for people to sign and indicate their support. (codepink.org)
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
