Editing Christmas Eve (section)

=== Christmas truce ===
{{Main|Christmas truce}}
During [[World War I]] in 1914 and 1915 there was an unofficial [[Christmas truce]], particularly between [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] and [[German Empire|German]] troops. The truce began on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1914, when [[German Army (German Empire)|German troops]] began decorating the area around their [[trench warfare|trenches]] in the region of [[Ypres]], Belgium, for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing [[Christmas carol]]s, most notably ''[[Silent Night (song)|Stille Nacht]]'' ("Silent Night"). The [[British Army|British troops]] in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols. The two sides shouted Christmas greetings to each other. Soon there were calls for visits across the "[[No man's land]]" when small gifts were exchanged. The truce also allowed a breathing space during which recently killed soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Funerals took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a passage from [[Psalm 23]]. The truce occurred in spite of opposition at higher levels of the military command. Earlier in the autumn, a call by [[Pope Benedict XV]] for an official truce between the warring governments had been ignored.
[[File:Scott 1371, Apollo 8.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Apollo 8]] commemorative stamp of the [[Apollo 8 Genesis reading|Christmas Eve Genesis reading]], issued in 1969, includes the ''[[Earthrise]]'' photograph by NASA astronaut [[William Anders]]]]