Every day brings a new story. And each day contributes to the art of story telling -- in prose and poetry, in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books.
Today is the story of December 24th.
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It is the 358th day of the year, leaving seven days in 2021. It is also Christmas Eve.
On this date in 1914, the Christmas Truce began. It is, perhaps, the greatest war story of them all -- when soldiers walked across No Man's Land on Christmas Eve, holding flags of truce, and stopped the war for a celebration of the Prince of Peace.
The story of men gathering, unannounced, to sing Christmas carols in multiple languanges, share their meager rations and family pictures, and play a friendly game of football was pretty much unknown at the time. But reports about it were whispered and then rumored, and as historians researched it, discovered it was mostly true.
Word spread widely after folksinger/songwriter John McCutcheon heard the tale and wrote and performed "Christmas in the Trenches" in 1984. It is one one of the great story songs of all time, and you can listen to it here, and read its lyrics here.
McCutcheon also told stories of old World War I veterans traveling to see his concerts, standing in the back to listen to the song. One veteran told him his family never believed his tales of the truce until hearing McCutcheon's song.
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