The Great War began in August 1914, and by December all thoughts of quick victory had faded. Fighting was most fierce in a thin strip of land called the Western Front. A system of trenches separated Allies from Germans, with the area in between known as No Man’s Land. Amidst the trench warfare that defined World War I, a few days of spontaneous peace broke out. On Christmas Eve, an astonishing event began–up and down the Western Front, Allied and German soldiers met peacefully in No Man’s Land. Without a signed treaty, surrender, or armistice, German and Allied soldiers alike were able to share Christmas cheer together.

The Best of Charles Burris