On the 4th
Day of Patmas, I give to you…4 Historical Christmas Day Moments
Personally,
I’ve always thought about Christmas Day as a day to spend with family. Stores are shut down, work is off, and the
day is one you can get to yourself. Of
course, this isn’t always the case.
Important things have happened on Christmas Day throughout history. I pulled the following 4 events to highlight,
as I found them to be the most interesting.
Enjoy!
1.
Christmas Truce - 1914
At the
outbreak of World War I in July 1914, many government and military leaders
believed the conflict would be “over by Christmas.” However, after the German
advance through France and Belgium was halted at the Battle of Marne in
September 1914, fighting along the Western Front became locked in a stalemate.
But that
Christmas, the fighting briefly came to an end on many parts of the Western
Front, as soldiers reached separate ceasefires to celebrate the holiday. The
truces were made primarily between British and German soldiers, though some
French and Belgian regiments also participated.
On Christmas
Eve, soldiers sang Christmas carols from their trenches and sent gifts to each
other. Some men bravely walked unarmed in the desolate, forbidding no man’s
between the trenches and began associating with the enemy while they buried
their dead comrades.
“It was then
we discovered that those on the ‘other’ side were not the savage barbarians
we'd been told,” Alfred Anderson, the last surviving British soldier to take
part in the 1914 truce, told George Beres for the History News Network. “They
were like us. Why were we led to believe otherwise?”
Though
high-ranking officers forbid fraternization with the enemy, soldiers from both
sides met again on Christmas Day. The men socialized, sang carols and exchanged
gifts such as chocolate cake, wine and tobacco. In many places, the men played
soccer.
The Times of
London printed several letters from British soldiers describing the truce. One
soldier wrote, “All joined together in a sing-song, each side taking it in turn
to sing a song, and finally they ended up ‘God Save the King’ in which the
Saxons sang most heartily!! This is absolutely true. One of our men was given a
bottle of wine in which to drink the King’s health. The — Regiment actually had
a football match with the Saxons, who beat them 3-2!!!”
The truces
ended that night or the following morning. A British captain wrote of how the
Royal Welch Fusiliers resumed the war: “At 8.30 I fired three shots in the air
and put up a flag with ‘Merry Christmas’ on it, and I climbed on the parapet.
He [the Germans] put up a sheet with ‘Thank you’ on it, and the German Captain
appeared on the parapet. We both bowed and saluted and got down into our
respective trenches, and he fired two shots in the air, and the War was on
again.”
Reflecting
on the truce, one British officer wrote to The Times, “They were really
magnificent in the whole thing and jolly good sorts. I have now a very
different opinion of the German. Both sides have started the firing, and
already enemies again. Strange it all seems, doesn’t it?”
2.
General Washington’s Crossing the Delaware - 1776
It was on
December 25, 1776, that General George Washington and his army made their
historic crossing of the Delaware River to attack the British 'Hessian
mercenaries' in Trenton, New Jersey.
In early
December of 1776, Washington and his army approached the Delaware River in
Trenton, New Jersey. Washington ordered
all watercraft to be gathered. He
especially noted the large Durham boats. The army crossed into Pennsylvania.
As winter
set in and the troops found shelter in Bucks County, many felt the campaign
season, if not the war, was over. It
would have been acceptable for both sides to go into winter quarters to
regroup, re-supply, and strategize for the start of the 1777 spring campaign. The main contingent of British troops did just
this and returned to New York for the winter, leaving mainly Hessian troops,
under the command of Col Rall and Col. Von Donop, to garrison small outposts in
and around Trenton. Washington, fearing
his army would not survive in its current state to the next campaign season,
decided to make a bold move and attack the Hessian outposts. He planned for the army, including the militia
recently connected to the army, the Philadelphia Associators, to divide into
three units and cross the Delaware River on December 25, 1776.
With the
crossing completed by Washington, he and his troops proceeded to march to
Trenton at 4 am, several hours later than intended and losing the cover of
darkness for the assault. Washington
divided his troops around 6 am for a two-prong attack, which occurred
flawlessly. The Hessians were defeated
and approximately 900 of them were captured and brought back to Pennsylvania as
prisoners. The Patriot cause was
invigorated and pushed the morale of the troops to new heights. The victory gave rise to new enthusiasm in
Congress and cemented Washington's role as a leader. No patriot loss of life is attributed to the
Battle of Trenton, however William Washington and a young James Monroe were
among the wounded. The following days
would bring another attack at Trenton (the second battle of Trenton or the
Battle of the Assunpink) and a victory for the Patriot cause at Princeton
before the main body of troops would go into winter quarters at Morristown, New
Jersey. It was this turn of events that
caused British General Cornwallis to concede at the end of the War that
Washington won his highest laurels along the banks of the Delaware.
3. Gorbachev
Resigns, Marking the End of the Soviet Union – 1991
The three
leaders, Boris Yeltsin of Russia, Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine and Stanislav
Shushkevich of Belarus, met secretly for two days in a hunting lodge 50 miles
north of Brest, Belarus. At the conclusion of the meeting, they released a
statement proclaiming the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
“As founding
states of the U.S.S.R. ... we declare that the U.S.S.R. is ceasing its
existence as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality,” the
statement read.
The
announcement effectively ended the authority of Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev. “The Brest statement does not reckon with Mr. Gorbachev; it simply
ignores him,” wrote The New York Times.
Gorbachev’s
power had been weakening in the preceding years, and he was nearly removed from
power in August 1991, when Communist hardliners arrested him and kept him in
his country home for several days. Though the coup was put down and Gorbachev
was restored to his office, his authority was effectively destroyed.
Yeltsin, who
had climbed atop a tank outside the Russian parliamentary building and called
for resistance against the coup, emerged a hero. He had won the support of the
Russian people and the Russian government began to take control of Soviet
government ministries.
Gorbachev
was powerless to stop the demise of the Soviet Union. The Russian legislature
ratified the agreement on Dec. 12 and eight other Soviet republics joined the
CIS nine days later. Gorbachev resigned on Christmas Day and the Soviet Union
was officially dissolved the following day.
4. Andrew
Johnson Pardons All Confederate Soldiers - 1868
Southern
Democrat Andrew Johnson became president following the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln, less than a week after the Southern army had surrendered. Johnson held sympathies for the South, and
clashed with Radical Republicans in Congress who wanted to impose harsh
measures on the South. This conflict led
to his impeachment in February 1868, but he survived the Senate vote to remove
him from office. Andrew Johnson became
the first President of the United States to be impeached.
One of the
most contentious issues was Johnson’s pardoning of Confederate soldiers. He
pardoned all common men who were willing to take an oath of allegiance; wealthy
landowners were required to apply for pardons, but Johnson pardoned nearly all
who applied. Finally, on Dec. 25, 1868,
as an outgoing president, Johnson issued a full pardon to all Southerners who
participated in the war.
The text of
the Proclamation is below:
Proclamation 179 - Granting Full Pardon and
Amnesty for the Offense of Treason Against the United States During the Late
Civil War
Whereas the
President of the United States has heretofore set forth several proclamations
offering amnesty and pardon to persons who had been or were concerned in the
late rebellion against the lawful authority of the Government of the United
States, which proclamations were severally issued on the 8th day of December,
1863, on the 26th day of March, 1864, on the 29th day of May, 1865, on the 7th
day of September, 1867, and on the 4th day of July, in the present year; and
Whereas the
authority of the Federal Government having been reestablished in all the States
and Territories within the jurisdiction of the United States, it is believed
that such prudential reservations and exceptions as at the dates of said
several proclamations were deemed necessary and proper may now be wisely and
justly relinquished, and that an universal amnesty and pardon for participation
in said rebellion extended to all who have borne any part therein will tend to
secure permanent peace, order, and prosperity throughout the land, and to renew
and fully restore confidence and fraternal feeling among the whole people, and
their respect for and attachment to the National Government, designed by its
patriotic founders for the general good:
Now,
therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson President of the United States,
by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the Constitution and in
the name of the sovereign people of the United States, do hereby proclaim and
declare unconditionally and without reservation, to all and to every person
who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or rebellion
a full pardon and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States
or of adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of
all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and the laws
which have been made in pursuance thereof.
In testimony
whereof I have signed these presents with my hand and have caused the seal of
the United States to be hereunto affixed.
Done at the
city of Washington, the 25th day of December, A. D. 1868, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the ninety-third.
ANDREW
JOHNSON.
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So, yeah,
big time events have happened on Christmas Day in the past! Love the story of the World War 1
troops. Kind of insane to think about
them in that situation…they spend two days celebrating a holiday as a family
would…then go back to killing one another.
How would you even do that? But
Christmas still held special sway over people then…enough to stop a World War! Andrew Johnson pardoned the Confederacy,
getting himself impeached in the process.
General George Washington turned the tide in the war for our freedom! I didn’t even get to mention Rocky Balboa
single handedly defeating communism in his Christmas Day fight with Ivan
Drago! That will have to be a post for
future 12 Days of Patmas posts…
So, while
you are spending the day with family and/or friends, keep an ear to the ground
and stay tuned into the world. Never
know when the next big Christmas Day event will occur!
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