Famous Days for Students of English

24-12-1914

In 1914, World War I starts in Europe. The enemies are the Germans on one side. The French and the British are on the other side.

It’s December 1914. Soldiers on both sides are fighting in cold weather. They shoot at each other from trenches.

Then December 24 comes. It’s the day when Germans celebrate Christmas. On that day, the British soldiers hear a melody which they know very well. The German soldiers are singing the song “Silent Night“ in German. It is a song which the British soldiers also want to sing the next day to celebrate Christmas. The atmosphere starts to change.

The Germans put Christmas trees before their trenches. Soldiers on both sides leave their trenches. They start to walk very carefully to each other. Then they meet face to face.

The enemies are now looking at each other from a close distance. They see that people on the other side are like them. They have the same feelings. They feel the same pain. They miss their families. They start to show each other photos of their families. They also exchange food, tobacco, and alcohol.

In the next days, thousands of soldiers on both sides meet again and again. They also play some football matches.

The commanders don’t like this situation. They don’t like when soldiers from both sides are friends.

After some days, the fights start again. The war continues.

Difficult words: enemy (the opposition or who you fight in a war), each other (the first to the second and the second to the first), trench (a long hole in the ground which people use in wars), atmosphere (a feeling), exchange (to give and to get at the same time), both (two), commander (a leader of soldiers).