The 1914 Christmas Truce: Silent Night

Silent Night is an iconic Christmas carol sung the world over for 200 years. It transcends time and place. The simple, beautiful lines and the truths they relay are moving and abiding. The lyrics were written two years before they were set to music. And while the tune is memorable and befits the text and advent season, the words hold their own. It is not surprising to see that references to the singing of this hymn have peppered the historical and fictional accounts of the Christmas Truce of 1914, when German and British troops set down their weapons and celebrated in peace together the birth of the Savior. It is a picture of the power of the gospel of peace and joy which penetrates the circumstances of this broken world and brings salvation.