On Monday, in America, people all over the country will be attending services in remembrance of all those who have suffered as a result of war. We as an Order hold ceremonies at our monasteries and temples too. Some may know of the truce that was called between the fighting men on Christmas Day during WW1, known ever after as The Christmas Truce. Apparently men at war at other times, and other wars, have dropped their fighting gear to fraternize with the enemy.
In the Crimean War British, French and Russians at quiet times also gathered around the same fire, smoking and drinking. In the American Civil War Yankees and Rebels traded tobacco, coffee and newspapers, fished peacefully on opposite sides of the same stream and even collected wild blackberries together. Similar stories are told of the Boer War, in which on one occasion, during a conference of commanders, the rank and file of both sides engaged in a friendly game of football.
Read more on the BBC News Web site.
Somehow these stories engender hope.