IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 781 
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the World War I Christmas Truce 
of 1914. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 11, 2014 
Mr. CROWLEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the World War 
I Christmas Truce of 1914. 
Whereas by December 1914, World War I had left about 90 
percent of the highly trained members of the British Ex-
peditionary Force in France with casualties, and about 
30 percent dead; 
Whereas the cries and moans of the injured and dying in no 
man’s land could be heard throughout the Western 
Front, and many of the dead had been lying unburied; 
Whereas, on December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV suggested 
a temporary hiatus of the war for the celebration of 
Christmas; 
Whereas despite this proposal, the warring countries refused 
to create any official cease-fire; 
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Whereas, on Christmas Eve, which under German tradition 
has more celebrations than the day itself, German sol-
diers began to sing carols and place lantern-lit Christmas 
trees above their trenches; 
Whereas much of December had been wet, but on this night 
the temperature dropped and a sharp frost settled over 
the landscape, making both trench conditions more bear-
able and the air clear and still; 
Whereas Rifleman C H Brazier, Queen’s Westminsters of 
Bishop’s Stortford, claimed in his letters that the Ger-
man soldiers said they would not shoot on Christmas Day 
if his fellows did not; 
Whereas another letter from Private Cunningham, of the 5th 
Scottish Rifles, to his friend Mr. James D Gray, in 
Carluke, Scotland, also reveals in more detail how such 
truces came about: ‘‘On Christmas Eve the firing prac-
tically ceased. . . .’’; 
Whereas, on Christmas Day, the soldiers of opposing forces 
emerged from their trenches and declared their own unof-
ficial truce, and shook hands with their enemies; 
Whereas according to many letters, a good-spirited, im-
promptu football match between German and Allied sol-
diers took place in no man’s land on this day and is com-
memorated annually by English football teams; 
Whereas in recognition of the 100th anniversary this year, 
special Christmas Truce candles will be lit around the 
world, including by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape 
Town, South Africa, and Pele´ in Santos, Brazil; 
Whereas worldwide celebrations are expected to take place, 
including the unveiling of a sculpture by Andy Edwards 
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in Liverpool capturing the 1914 Christmas Day football 
match; and 
Whereas the lessons of this event are that the light of human 
empathy can dispel the darkness of despair, the possi-
bility for future peace can still exist when at war with 
other nations, and that behind the clashing of weapons 
and trenches of indifference humanity essentially en-
dures: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives — 
(1) honors the 100th Anniversary of the World 
War I Christmas Truce of 1914; 
(2) recognizes the Christmas Truce’s symbol of 
the triumph of the human spirit over adversity; and 
(3) commemorates the World War I Christmas 
Truce of 1914 and its legacy as a message of future 
peace and unity between all nations. 
Æ 
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