There is a story about the singing of carols on the battlefield during WW1. The Germans started singing, the British joined in, and for a brief few minutes brotherhood won. For a brief few moments guns were laid down and arms embraced. And then it was over. They picked up their rifles and resumed the war. It is a moving story of the power of a song and a season. But it ends too soon. There is no sustaining power to make it last.
Two things come to mind. First, everyone had to share the same holiday for it to have meaning. If someone started singing Ramadan songs, to the "christians" I don't think the fighting would have stopped. And who knows how the Germans would have responded if someone had starting singing songs of Hanukkah. That the different sides were from the same closely related faith practice made the scenario more plausible and sad.
The other thing that occurs to me is that maybe the reason the story resonates with us is it may be closer to our own life patterns. We sing the hymns in church on Sunday and have no trouble shooting at others on Monday.
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