Christmas truce
Holiday battlefield peace
The Christmas truce refers to unofficial ceasefires that occurred along the Western Front during World War I, particularly in December 1914, when opposing soldiers stopped fighting to exchange gifts, sing carols, and in some cases play football in no man's land.
The phrase now evokes any temporary peace amid ongoing conflict, or a moment of shared humanity between enemies: The rivals called a Christmas truce to get through the family dinner.
- World War IFirst global military conflict
- Western FrontFranco-Belgian combat zone
- no man's landUnowned space between enemies
- enemy linesAdversary's military positions
- ceasefireAgreed halt to fighting
trenches · soldiers · peace · morale · fraternization · white flag · history · reconciliation · Silent Night · military · historical memory · pacifism · football match · shared humanity · goodwill gesture · war poets · anti-war sentiment · memorialization
- World War Itrenches, trench warfare, eastern front, Western Front, soldiers
- WWItrenches, no man's land, no mans land, trench warfare, armistice
- ceasefiresarmistice, ceasefire line, ceasefire violation, halt, pause
- WWI films1917, Sergeant York, Gallipoli, War Horse, Lawrence of Arabia
Christmas truceoffensive
Causing displeasure or attack-oriented
assault · attack · bombardment · escalation · artillery barrage
Christmas trucepeace treaty
Formal end to hostilities
armistice · formal surrender · Treaty of Versailles · unconditional surrender · capitulation
Christmas trucegenocide
Systematic annihilation of a people
massacre · war crime · ethnic cleansing · no quarter · Holocaust
Christmas, truce, Christ, Christmases, truces, Christian, Christianity, Christlike, christen