Here’s an uplifting story about how soccer played a small role in the Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I. Loyan over at the Corvallis Soccer Blog has the details of a number of soccer games that broke out between German and Allied forces on Christmas Day:

Letters sent by soldiers describe numerous soccer games played between German and Allied forces during the spontaneous truce on Christmas day. Men who had fired at each other just days earlier set aside their rifles to meet in the No Man’s Land between the western front trenches.

They buried the fallen, sang holiday carols, exchanged gifts and formed impromptu soccer fields on grounds littered with corpses, artillery holes and barbed wire. Some games were played with balls made of ration tins, stuffed caps and tied up sand bags. Regulation soccer balls magically appeared for others.

What a great story. Be sure to check out this in depth look at the truce games over at OleOle.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone! Best wishes from On The Pitch to you and yours.

-SoccerDad