Out Our Way: Christmas truce - Luke 2:14

'Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace and goodwill to all.' 

Out our way on the open prairie, away from the lights of town, you can often see the stars clearly on a moonless night. It is something many folks, especially in urban areas, have never really witnessed. For those of us who have been blessed to be out in "the Big Open" on a moonless night, it is an amazing sight. I have fond memories of camping and riding in isolated areas where such views were possible. And more than once, I was reminded of the legend of the Christmas tree.

According to what I read, Martin Luther was in a forest of evergreens one dark December night and the sight of the stars twinkling through the branches of the forest inspired him to create the first Christmas tree. The evergreen had always been sacred to the Germanic people, even in pagan days, but to Luther, the great theologian and reformer, the sacred tree "adorned" with the "lights of heaven" represented the angelic host and later the Star of Bethlehem that proclaimed the birth of Christ.

So he cut down a small fir tree and placed candles in the branches to symbolize the heavenly lights he had seen in the forest, and it became a tradition in Germany. In time, Queen Victoria (whose ancestry was German) and Prince Albert (Austrian) introduced the Christmas tree to England and to the British Empire. Like Christianity itself, the tradition of the Christmas tree was adopted and spread throughout the known world.

In 1914, as World War I was destroying humanity, a Christmas tree almost ended the war. It began on Christmas Eve as German, Scottish and French Troops faced each other, intent on attacking and killing each other. Then on Christmas Eve, a German soldier began singing "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night). The Scots joined in English, and all firing ceased. Then the German soldier switched to singing in Latin, "Adeste Fideles," and all three sides, German, Scots and French joined in.

Then the Germans put up small Christmas trees with gaily burning candles atop the trenches. Legend has it that one soldier picked up a tree and carried it out into no man's land - soon to be joined by Scottish and French soldiers. Indeed the trenches all emptied as soldiers laid down their weapons and instead carried gifts to share with their enemies. Thus began the Christmas tree truce.

The British, German and French military commands and governments were appalled and eventually replaced these soldiers with others who had not learned their "enemies" were just human beings like themselves. For a time, the Christmas tree replaced the rifle, mortar and bayonet in the trenches. Every Christmas season gives us the promise that one day the "Christmas tree truce" will finally become the Christmas peace that never ends. 

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].