Moment of Peace

The First World War was a time of great distress to most of Europe, deemed as a surprising war. However, there was one element of World War I that was surprising in itself.

It was winter, cold bitter winter. Worse than other years before, the men out there were supposed to be at war. Luckily for them, the freezing storm had stopped in time of Christmas and exposed a land of pure-white snow.

Ludwig, the very form of Germany incarnate, rose slowly and close to the trenches his German Army had hidden themselves for battle. Just yards away were the British, who stood against them on their war against France. The scene was seemingly clear, but Ludwig knew better.

"Those Tommies must be out there, preparing for another round…" Germany thought, "especially with England himself there… but its Christmas time… yet not with my brothers… Maybe…"

On the other side of the "no man's land", another set of trenches was filled with soldiers of Britain and her massive colonial empire. Among the lot, Arthur Kirkland, the form of England, was on duty there.

"Soldier, what day is today?" England asked.

"Sergeant Kirkland, it is 24 December sir," a soldier replied promptly.

"Fuck… while our countrymen are relaxing in their homes, we suffer out here…" England lamented, "Just me… and my countrymen… and those…"

"…Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, Alles schlaft; einsam wacht. Nur das traute hochheilige Paar…"

England quickly shot his head up to see what was the commotion about. Out in the barren white, the lone figure of Germany stood still and his lips moved as the melody of the carols did.

"…Kraut…" England spoke, himself slightly surprised.

"Sir, what should we do?" a soldier asked.

"Only one thing I can think of…" England answered, clearing his throat.

"Silent night, holy night; Shepherds just informed. By the angels' hallelujah, it…"

By that point, England also began walking up towards the German. Other soldiers on both sides slowly crept from behind the trenches to see the commotion; some of them joined in the choir of carols while an ensemble of bagpipes and drums played out. The two songs, English and German, came together and they were one song.

"…Christ, in deiner Geburt..."

"…Christ, in thy Birth…"

At the end of the song, the soldiers all applauded to the impromptu moment and the music still continued on. England and Germany found themselves to be meeting each other, face to face.

"Tommy," Germany called.

"My name is Arthur, you Kraut…" England replied, "Curse that Atkins lad."

"Stop calling me Kraut or Hun, and maybe I will refer you more properly," Germany shot back his reply, "kraut is the name of cabbage, and Hungary is the descendant of the Huns by right."

"Nice singing there," England spoke, "what is it that you desire?"

"A truce… on the day Jesus was brought into this world," Germany stated, "We shall stop fighting and celebrate Christmas… together…"

"I'm okay with that, I suppose…" England replied, "Don't get me wrong. I am only agreeing to this poppycock so that I can relax, not for you."

In the hours to come, the empty soil where blood had been spilt upon had transformed into that of a grounds of festival. The soldiers hastily gave out their presents to one another, regardless if they were British or German. Cigars, alcohol, food, buttons, hats and more; all was to be given and received in kind by both sides. At that moment, it would seem that no one cared about the reason they were out there (to fight the enemy), instead they made merry … into the hours of dusk and into Christmas Day.

As the light of a new day came by, it heralded 25 December; it was Christmas Day. The cold hardened soil had turned soft and warm as all soldiers laid back in their slumber. Soon, all of them rose up and gazed upon the snowy land defiled by a Christmas Party of their own. Empty plates and bottles, and scraps of food and drops of the booze were found everywhere.

Germany woke up, to find himself beside England; who was also waking up as well. The two "enemies" then smiled upon seeing each other on this morning.

"Frohe Weihnachten," Germany greeted.

"Yes indeed, Merry Christmas," England replied, "don't get me wrong; I'm saying it for the sake of courtesy only."

"The day Jesus was born… I wonder how the world and the Nations then were," Germany spoke.

"It was before our time, not of our generation," England answered, "so… are we going to just talk for the rest of the day?"

"Unless you have plans for our activities," Germany said.

"Eureka, of course!" England jumped up and exclaimed, "I got the prefect thing for us. Wait a minute there."

England dashed back to his trenches, hopping around as excited as a child. As he vanished into the trenches, a ball was hurled across the "no man's land" and it ended up hitting Germany in the face.

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to be in the way," England said, coming out to meet Germany again, "I'm truly sorry."

Meanwhile, Germany held up the very object that assaulted him.

"So… this is your plan…" Germany said, "…hitting people with balls…"

"No, that was an accident," England said, "I actually decided that we have a football match to substitute the war for now. United Kingdom versus the German Empire; who shall win?"

"Everyone, we are playing football!" Germany declared loudly, "Spread out and prepare."

"The trenches will be the goalposts for this match," England added, "and Gordon; you will be referee. Palmer, you will be the commentator for our side."

"Horstmayer, you'll be our commentator," Germany continued, "and bring out all the beer we can muster!"

Hours gone by on Christmas Day, there was joy and peace on this no man's land. The football match had long since ended, in a German victory of 3-2. By nightfall, the soldiers returned to the trenches again. Inside and out, they knew they had fun and the peace was great. Yet, in their hearts, they knew otherwise. For the Motherland and Fatherland, they shall fight soon again.

"Great game, Kraut," England spoke, still laughing, "that last shot was only a fluke. Mark my words."

"Ja, Tommy," Germany replied, "You had better hope your shooting is not half as bad as your football."

England glanced at the German soldiers retreating to their trenches and preparing their arms; then he sighed.

"Kraut, these people… they came out here to fight for the Motherland… for you and me…" England reasoned, "Do we honestly want this war in the first place?"

"The very basis of this war is a combination of illogical accusation, national pride, fixed alliances…" Germany answered.

"Ahem, and neutrality violation," England interjected.

"But my point is that it's our bosses who wants to fight," Germany continued, "We only wanted to have our peace."

"But where's the thrill in that?" England answered, "Maybe we should make our bosses fight one another instead of us, and not drag the entire country into this."

Suddenly, a gunshot resonated throughout the barren plains. Germany stood there with a pistol to his hand, staring at the Briton.

"Stroke of midnight, it is now 26 December," he announced calmly, "the battle has gone on hiatus long enough."

"I couldn't agree more," England replied, "just to let you know, I have taken the liberty to study your trenches during the truce."

"Why you…" Germany grunted.

"No gunfire or killing, but you never say that we cannot strategise out here," England replied.

"That does not matter, for I too studied your positions," Germany replied.

"Fuck you…" England cried, "I was an idiot to trust you in the first place."

And so, the Christmas Truce of 1914 ended. In other parts, it lasted till New Year while it was shorter in others. The story of these soldiers not fighting were sent home and told to the people. The spirit of Christmas touched the hearts of Man and Nation.

Many years have passed and it is now Year 2008.

On the site where the trenches once stood, a park replaced it. However, it was snowing and the place resembled the old battlefield where soldiers had been buried by those who had participated in the Christmas Truce of 1914. All over, men, women and children had gathered. Some of the men there wore old uniforms resembling those wore by the British and Germans of World War I. Two of the men walked up to each other and stared at the other man.

"Ah, how long had it been?" England asked.

"94 years, and you recall how it was then," Germany said, "…eh, Tommy?"

"Must you use such archaic terms?" England wondered, "…ok, you're such a Kraut…"

"Hmm… at least we got our peace now," Germany remarked, "and our bosses fight a war of words against one another."

"Okay, let's shake hands so that we can start this ceremony here," England said, and the two Nations shook hands.

Omake – The Hardworking East Asians

About a week before Christmas, another World Conference in the United Nations was underway. After a long detailed discussion (which ended up as a waste of time), America was making his final statements.

"Okay everyone, before we end this session, I would like to say a few words," America announced, "All of you are officially invited to my awesome Christmas party! At my house on Christmas Eve, 6 pm; got it?"

"Aiya, but Christmas is not celebrated as a holiday in my place!" China exclaimed, "Maybe Hong Kong and Macau can go in my place…"

"I must apologise, for I can't leave my country too," Japan apologised, "it is not a holiday in my country and my boss needs me on that day."

"Da-ze, I'm the only country in East Asia who treats Christmas like a true holiday!" Korea proudly declared.

"Then… what about Taiwan?" the American asked.

"Well, 25 December is her Constitution Day and she used to be free to visit me…" Japan answered, "But now… it is no longer a legal holiday with a day-off."

Translations

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht – Silent night, holy night

Alles schlaft; einsam wacht – All is sleeping; alone watches

Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar – Only the close, most holy couple

Christ, in deiner Geburt – Christ, in thy birth

Frohe Weihnachten – Merry Christmas

Author's Notes

The names Germany and England called (Gordon, Palmer and Horstmayer) are references to the movie Joyeux Noel.

Tommy is a term used in World War I to refer to British soldiers. It is derived from a man called Tommy Atkins.

England's comment about "neutrality violation" refers to the German invasion of neutral Belgium. It was that event that drove Britain to side with France and Russia.

Hope you enjoy the omake about Christmas and East Asia. It's a little trivia I found out myself.

And lastly, Merry Christmas from Singapore.. and a Happy New Year too.