Ulster Rugby vs Connacht

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

Tonight we are joining with other clubs and stadiums across Europe in holding a short celebration to mark the centenary of the 1914 Christmas Truce – a remarkable event when a carol and sport combined to create a moment of peace.

The First world war was five months old on Christmas Eve, 1914. The bitter fighting would last another four years and would cost millions of lives.

sang, exchanged greetings and gifts, some even playing football. The power of the moment, in how sport and the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus can bring about peace in a time where peace & hope seemed farther away than ever, That message of Jesus’ birth, Christmas and of peace and hope remains till this day and we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yet that first Christmas saw a moment that continues to be talked about today, one hundred years later. On that night, from their trenches, came the sound of a much-loved Christmas carol. The Germans singing “Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!” was answered by “Silent Night! Holy Night!”. In time, soldiers from both sides emerged from their defences and walked - unarmed - into no-mans land. There they

22

ULSTER RUGBY

www. ulster rugby.com