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Sometime
in 1999 this message began circulating around the internet. It began
“What if……..” "Pass it on!" the message urged, the greater the number of people who grasp this thought, the more likely it is to come into reality. "In thought, it is already so." This
idea is not new. During the First World War there was an unofficial
truce between the German and British troops. It began with the wistful
and other-worldly sound of singing from across the divide that was known
as “no-man’s land.” It was Christmas Eve, the songs were carols.
It started with one individual, focusing on something other than
imminent danger & fear, loss, pain, hunger, cold, exhaustion. The
sound of his voice brought the gift of remembrance, of returning to
themselves, to all around him - thoughts of loved ones, of happier
times, thoughts of Christmas, the time of “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to
All Men.” Across
the divide, the message was received. Again it began with one person.
The first person on the British side began to sing carols, others then
joined in. At midnight on Christmas Eve, in the midst of the cold and
the hunger and the devastation, one man stood up above the trenches, and
began to walk, slowly and purposefully, towards the enemy. He carried
his lamp, a clear and easy target, but no-one fired their guns. Others,
almost like in a dream, began to follow his lead. Soldiers
from both sides met each other, on that incredible night, in the middle
of no-man’s land. They lit candles, shook hands, they exchanged gifts,
cigarettes, whatever they had. They showed each other their most
personal possessions – their photos of their loved ones back home.
That night, they didn’t need a shared language - they had the common
ground of their humanity. This “fraternizing with the enemy”
continued throughout the night and all the next day. They agreed to have
a 24 hour truce for Christmas, where not a shot would be fired. On
Christmas Day, no-man’s land became “all man’s land,” as the
troops, shared food, drink and one group even had a game of football! By
midnight on Christmas Day, the truce was over. But still - no one fired.
In some places the Christmas truce lasted into Boxing Day and even well
into 1915.
Today, 90 years later, the event is seen as a shining
episode of sanity from among the bloody chapters of World War One – a
spontaneous effort by ordinary people to create a peace that could have
blossomed were it not for the intervention of generals and politicians.
The
idea of “One day of Peace” has persisted. In
1981 the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 36/67
declaring an International Day of Peace. In 1999
The Peace One Day film project began as the vision of British
director Jeremy Gilley and resulted in the establishment of a designated
day for International Day of Peace as a day of global ceasefire and
non-violence, to be held annually on the 21st of September.
His vision was that the UN would not only name the day, but take an
active role in overseeing the day of peace and ceasefire. The
World Peace prayer Society (WPPS – “May Peace Prevail on Earth”)
suggests that we hold an International Day of Peace Vigil. What
can we do? * Wear your Peacechain jewellery! (Thanks to Nickolai K. Parker, WPPS, New York for some of these ideas)
Celtic Benediction
Deep
peace of the
Deep
peace of the
Deep
peace of the
Deep
peace of the
Deep
peace of the (Author unknown. If anyone has info on this, please let me know.)
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