When sport brings people together - The Christmas Day Truce

A mere game of football united two enemies on Christmas Day 1914 after months of fighting and killing. Christmas gave the Germans and Allies the opportunity to agree to a truce to bury their dead. The spirit of Christmas and the inner morality of the soldiers shone through as during the truce they shared jokes, sang carols, drank beer and exchanged gifts. While the evidence is thin over whether a match actually took place most believe the famous Christmas Day football match did happen with the Germans winning 3-2. It seems remarkable how the two enemies were united by a friendly game of football, when a couple of days before they had been shooting at each other with the intention of killing. Sport has the power to bring people together because it is universal. Sport breaks past language barriers and brings out humanity in people as it is fun, competitive and encourages team work. During the Great War sport brought enemies together for one day and created something positive as it allowed the soldiers to see that the people they were fighting against are people with families and are not the politicians who declared the war. Once the truce ended fighting did continue in most areas but some soldiers have reported the jokes they shared and the fun they had playing football prevented them from continuing fighting and they had to be removed from the trenches. Sport on this small scale was a peaceful weapon which united conflicting parties and brought people together even in the middle of a war. Who knows but maybe sport today could be used as a peaceful weapon to end war and torture?