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Christmas in the Trenches
My wife found this for me. I didn't know if it goes here or off topic. I recognize some of the pictures as kilted but they're not all that clear. Anyway, it's a wonderful story.
It's a bit early for Christmas stuff but sometimes I do procrastinate too long.
I must say I really enjoyed this piece. It serves as a valuable reminder that Christmas was once much more than a series of sales and accumulation of material things. I like to think that in some places this is still so but the true spirit of the season becomes harder and harder to find.
I have been fortunate enough to portray Santa on and off for the better part of 34 years. The best of these times was a gathering of 400 plus children. The hosts had supplied me with a bag of token toys for the kids. I had a rough idea of what the toys were by feel and shape. One small girl of about six, when lifted on my knee, asked for a real watch as she had recently learned to tell time. It took some digging and luck but I found in my bag what I knew to be a toy watch.
The gift was wrapped so she had to go away to open it. When she saw what it was, she got back in line and patiently waited about thirty minutes until she could see me again. This young lady could not have been more thankful for getting the exact gift she had wanted. I was 16 at the time.
This is the most sacred memory of Christmas that I carry. Simple innocense and joy. Couldn't we all do with a little more of that?
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Good stuff.
Reminded me of the Garth Brooks song (on Sevens)called "Belleau Wood." Of particular intrest to Marines, as that is where we earned the "Devil Dog" title from the Germans.
I can't seem to open this so it may be the same thing. Be sure to check out the story of the Christmas Truce from WWI. It's a true story or how some British and German troops came together across No Man's Land to celebrate Christmas together in the middle of war.
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It truly was a different time. The enemy wore uniforms, and shared the same general moral beliefs. The fighting was fierce and the death toll horrendous. There was no evening news, or instant internet connection to bare the horrors of conflict. There was not a news cameraman behind every third soldier. Support for the cause was wide-spread. Soldiers could not talk to their wives or sweethearts ten minutes after an engagement.
Reminded me of the Garth Brooks song (on Sevens)called "Belleau Wood." Of particular intrest to Marines, as that is where we earned the "Devil Dog" title from the Germans.
I can't seem to open this so it may be the same thing. Be sure to check out the story of the Christmas Truce from WWI. It's a true story or how some British and German troops came together across No Man's Land to celebrate Christmas together in the middle of war.
Yep, the very same Dave.
Next time you're at the rental place, or looking on Netflix, be sure to pick up the movie "Joyeux Noel", which is about the 1914 Christmas Truce, as seen through the eyes of a French, German, and Scots officer. The Scottish Regiment portrayed in the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
That spontaneous truce between the warring factions has always had meaning for me, in showing how much it takes to overcome the instinct for peacemaking people have.
It also shows how brutal the conflict became after that initial Christmas celebration.
Originally Posted by James MacMillan
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