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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Peace on Earth: A Christmas wish

Peace on Earth: A Christmas wish

Published Dec 22, 2023 04:03 pm
E CARTOON DEC 23 2023.jpg


History tells us that the human race has always aimed for peace, to exist peacefully among tribes, communities and nations.  Yet, history also records the many conflicts that come from the efforts to forge peace. Peace talks and truces are part of history too.

Every Christmas, the heart longs for peace – be that at a conflict area or in the family home.  It is human nature to want peace.

In the war zone, the most famous Christmas truce in 1941 is still talked about today because it was a spontaneous action by British and German troops in the trenches during World War I, known as the bloodiest war in history.

The Imperial War Museum records this moving moment in history: “Late on Christmas Eve 1914, men of the British Expeditionary Force heard German troops in the trenches opposite them singing carols and patriotic songs and saw lanterns and small fir trees along their trenches. Messages began to be shouted between the trenches. The following day, British and German soldiers met in no man’s land and exchanged gifts, took photographs and some played impromtu games of football.”

There are many conflicts around the world and the International Crisis Group, a non-profit organization, cites 10 conflicts including the war between Russia and Ukraine, and that between Israel and Hamas. Those need attention and more than just a stronger dose of the Christmas spirit to find resolution.

Every day, because of technology, the world sees not only the damages but also the grief that armed conflict has brought to human beings in many parts of the world.

But conflict areas and war zones are not the only places where peace is needed.  Closer to each of us is conflict at home which is driving families apart, and bringing misery to couples, siblings, and even relatives.  Conflict can be caused by the mundane, such as perceived meanings of gestures, to serious issues, one of them, lies.

During the season of Christmas, the message of “Peace on Earth, goodwill to men,” always inspires many hearts to extend the hand of peace. Like the soldiers in the trenches in the cold of winter in 1941, many hearts are now on their way to create peaceful resolutions to conflict – armed conflict or family feuds.

In many homes, an informal truce hangs over the Christmas dinner table where family members sit to celebrate the birth of Jesus, even if they argue over many matters during the year.  Because that’s the way human beings are made.

May your hearts be filled with the peace of Christmas throughout the year! And if you are in the middle of a conflict, may you be an instrument for peace, even just a truce, on Christmas Day.

 

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