Fighting in the Great War was different/from earlier conflicts.// The soldiers on each side dug ditches,/called “trenches,”/where they lived and fought.// The fighting was called “trench warfare”/with the Allied Powers on one side/and the Central Powers on the other,/enemy facing enemy.// The longest trench was dug/by the German army in France,/and it was over three kilometers long!// Fighting happened in the area between the trenches,/called No Man’s Land.// Soldiers fought fiercely/to get territory little by little/and No Man’s Land was a dangerous place.//
　On Christmas Eve 1914,/something wonderful happened.// No one is really sure where it started,/but all along the Western Front,/the soldiers decided to stop fighting.// A spontaneous truce for Christmas had begun!//
　In a few places,/army officers from both sides/talked and decided terms for the truce:/when to stop fighting/and when to start again.// But there was no general plan.// In most places,/ordinary soldiers decided/by themselves/not to fight.// It was Christmas,/a time of peace.//
　There are many stories/about how the Christmas Truce began.// Some people say/that German soldiers followed their tradition/and put up Christmas trees all along the Western Front.// These twinkling trees were beacons/in the darkness of No Man’s Land/and could be seen/by the Allied soldiers.// Others talk/about how British soldiers heard the German enemy/singing the Christmas carol, “Stille Nacht”/— and suddenly realized/it was a song they knew!// Then they began to sing along/in English.// The song was “Silent Night.”//
　Maybe it was the Christmas trees;/maybe it was the Christmas carols;/maybe it was because they were without their families at Christmastime.// No matter how the Christmas Truce started,/it was an incredible event.// One by one,/soldiers from both sides/began to leave their trenches/and walked into No Man’s Land.//