In the slush and ice of the trenches in 1914, German soldiers who celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve began lighting lanterns and singing a German carol: “Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!” British soldiers recognized the tune and began singing “Silent Night” in English. In an undeclared truce, the enemy soldiers exchanged small gifts and showed each other family snapshots. The truce was not widespread, and the generals on both sides were not pleased.

During the Battle of the Bulge during World War II three lost American soldiers—one badly wounded—stumbled upon an isolated cabin on Christmas Eve, where Elisabeth Vincken and her son Fritz took them in and cooked a meal. At another knock on the door Elisabeth found four German soldiers who were also lost. She warned them that Americans were inside and insisted, “It is the Holy Night, and there will be no shooting here.” Their truce lasted through the night, and the soldiers left in opposite directions.

We all know the story of “Silent Night”—how the pastor of the Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Germany, found on Christmas Eve that the organ was broken. He gave a poem he had written to the organist to compose a melody and a guitar arrangement. By 1838, the carol was published all over Germany. By the middle of the Civil War, “Silent Night” was in American hymnals and sung in American churches, a favorite on both North and South.

There was no organ in Oberndorf that Christmas Eve, so it was sung with simple guitar accompaniment. In 1914, there were no organs in the trenches; “Silent Night/Stille Nacht” was sung a cappella.

In the present year of multiple desperate wars, when peace seems impossible, relinquish the power of organ or piano, or six-part elaborate vocal arrangements. Sing this carol a cappella—or at most, simple guitar or even harmonica. Many of the community know and will sing the harmony.

Sleep in heavenly peace.