Britain's Prince William Endorses "Silent Night" Campaign This Christmas

Teresa Neumann : Oct 9, 2014
Inspire Magazine UK

"Even in the bleakest of times, Christmas offers peace and hope. This Christmas, the 'Silent Night' carol services are a powerful way to remember the sacrifice made by so many in the Great War and to celebrate the peace we enjoy." -Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

(United Kingdom)—Many are familiar with the famous WWI story of the 1914 Christmas Day Truce in which armies on both sides of the conflict, fighting in the trenches of Western France, spontaneously put down their weapons and embarked on an unofficial 24-hour truce. Soldiers actually walked across the area tagged as "No Man's Land" to greet each other and exchange gifts.

A Wikipedia entry states, "The truce is often seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of human history."

Indeed, 14 million souls died in WWI.

It was estimated that about 100,000 soldiers took part in the truce. One survivor, Pvt. Albert Moren of the Second Queens Regiment spoke fondly of that night. As reported in the New York Times, he was stationed near the French village of La Chapelle d'Armentieres.

"It was a beautiful moonlit night," he said. "Frost on the ground; white almost everywhere. About 7 or 8 in the evening there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and there were these lights—I don't know what they were. And then they sang 'Silent Night' (or 'Stille Nacht' in German). I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life."

Rifleman Graham Williams of the Fifth London Rifle Brigade noted that the joy that night spread quickly. "First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until when we started up 'O Come, All Ye Faithful.' The Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words 'Adeste Fideles.' And I thought, 'Well, this is really a most extraordinary thing—two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.'"

Now—100 years later—poignant plans are being made in Great Britain to celebrate the centenary of that momentous occasion.

According to an Inspire Magazine report, "A new verse and chorus has been written for Joseph Moh'rs famous carol, and all over the country—in schools, sports stadia, cathedrals and churches—choirs, congregations and sports fans will sing 'Silent Night.'

Prince William has backed the event, saying, "Even in the bleakest of times, Christmas offers peace and hope. This Christmas, the 'Silent Night' carol services are a powerful way to remember the sacrifice made by so many in the Great War and to celebrate the peace we enjoy."

Roy Crowne, director of HOPE's Greater Love campaign, said, "It's been amazing how the Silent Night Carols events have come together. There's been a huge response, so we are expecting thousands of events to be held all over the country this December... Most of all, we want people to discover the peace and hope found in knowing Jesus personally — supernatural peace that anyone who knows Jesus can experience even when you are surrounded by fighting."