I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas! I know, I know, I said “everybody” and I also said “Christmas,” that’s a touch UN-PC of me but everyone bear with me.

I have a lot of respect for whatever great compromiser came up with the term “Holiday Season.” It was a great idea – a way to get everyone involved in Christmas without actually saying “Christmas.” The best part is that I can say “Have a great holiday” to everyone I see and not have to worry about some awkward response – they can just say “You too!” and there’s no uncomfortable silence.

I hope, wherever that “Holiday Season” man is, he made a lot of money from that idea. He might be credited with saving the world someday.

Anyways the whole “Holiday Season” and subsequent “Keep Christ in Christmas” outrage that follows it got me thinking. This is the 21st Century – and the world is a very different place than it was even twenty years ago, let alone two thousand. Why should we think of Christmas the same way it was in “It’s a Wonderful Life?” Unlike George Bailey’s Bedford Falls, I’m pretty sure everyone else’s hometown has at least a couple Jewish people, and maybe even an Indian guy. How should Christmas be handled today, when there are so many different people, different faiths, and different lifestyles? Is it possible for everybody to come together at Christmas without some kind of lawsuit or political undertone?

That brings me to my favorite Christmas story – the one that explains everything – the story that tells us how Christmas and its “Holiday Season” should be handled for the next century. Ironically, the story is almost 100 years old.

The Christmas Truce of World War I

(Thanks Austin Post-Bulletin)

British and German soldiers had been fighting along the Western Front near Ypres, Belgium in December 1914. The opposing armies fought from trenches on either side of the front. The battle front was set early in the war, and each army dug a complex set of trenches facing the enemy. The armies would shoot and bomb across the land in between, known as “no man’s land.” It was usually about 100 yards of open land that was impossible to cross without being picked off by an enemy sniper. In some areas, no man’s land was only 15 to 30 yards wide.

On Christmas Eve, German soldiers began to decorate trees with candles for the holiday. Then they began singing Christmas carols, including “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night). The British soldiers responded by singing English Christmas carols.

Before long, the soldiers were crossing no man’s land to exchange gifts. The troops exchanged the few luxury items that they had, including whiskey, jam, cigars and chocolate. The artillery did not bomb; the men enjoyed a quiet evening.

An unknown British soldier wrote this account of the Christmas truce in a letter home: “Just before dinner, I had the pleasure of shaking hands with several Germans: A party of them came half way over to us, so several of us went out to them. I exchanged one of my balaclavas for a hat. I’ve also got a button off one of their tunics. We also exchanged smokes etc., and had a decent chat. They say they won’t fire tomorrow if we don’t, so I suppose we shall get a bit of a holiday – perhaps. After exchanging autographs and them wishing us a Happy New Year, we departed and came back and had our dinner.”

The troops on both sides took advantage of the cease fire to bury their dead. The chance to safely retrieve bodies from no man’s land and properly bury their friends was not taken lightly.

The truce spread along the front both to the north and the south. Both British and German soldiers wrote letters home about a soccer match between the opposing armies. All accounts have the Germans winning 3-2.

The cease fire was not sanctioned by military commanders of either army, and in some areas fighting began again Dec. 26. It is reported that some sectors remained quiet until New Year’s Day.

Out there in No Man’s Land those soldiers figured it out - the true meaning of Christmas in the Twenty-First Century. Christmas, the Holidays, whatever, is an excuse to be good…that’s it. Just an excuse to cast everything aside, ignore the world around us, defy the norm, and just be good…if just for a day.

Happy Holidays everyone! Be good!