Each man began to speak with the enemy soldiers,/introducing themselves/and shaking hands.// They wished each other a happy Christmas/and showed photos of their families back home.// They shared their meager rations of food and drink.// Some soldiers even exchanged gifts,/like chocolates and sausages.// And as they greeted each other,/the men began to realize/that they were not so different.// A few hours earlier/they had been trying to kill each other.// Now they were talking and laughing/like old friends!//
　Some critics say/the Christmas Truce didn’t happen,/and that it is a fairy tale made up by people/who oppose war.// But historians say/the Christmas Truce was a real event.// It was reported/in English and German newspapers/with photos of soldiers from both sides sitting together.// There were stories of men playing “kickabout,”/an informal game of soccer.// Arthur Conan Doyle,/the creator of Sherlock Holmes,/called it “an amazing spectacle”/in one of his history books.// And it was  amazing!//
　Most reports say/that it was the German soldiers/who invited the truce.// Perhaps it was because they were winning the war at that time/and were more confident.// Or maybe it was because many of them could speak English.// Many Germans had worked in England/before the war.// The German soldiers may have taken the first steps/because they had the confidence/to communicate in English.//
　Not everyone was happy/with the Christmas Truce.// Some British generals spoke angrily/and accused the soldiers of losing their fighting spirit.// On the German side,/one young man scolded his fellow soldiers saying,/“Such a thing should not happen in wartime.// Do you have no German sense of honor left?”// His name was Adolf Hitler,/the man who started World War II.//
　Each year on November 11,/people in many countries remember/those who have died in all wars.// This day is often called Remembrance Day.// There are ceremonies with presidents and prime ministers.// They place wreaths on graves/so that we do not forget everyone /who has died in war.// Why November 11?// Because this is the day/when the peace treaty was signed/that officially ended the Great War.//