Free All Things Christmas by E. G. Lewis Page A

leaders maintained a strict caste system at the expense of shepherds and other common folk. Shepherds were officially labeled sinners, a technical term for a class of despised people. Into this social context of religious snobbery and class prejudice, Jesus stepped forth. How surprising and significant that God handpicked lowly, unpretentious shepherds to be the first to hear the joyous news that the long-awaited Mashiach had been born.
    What an affront to the religious leaders who were so conspicuously absent from the divine mailing list. Even from birth, Christ moved among the lowly. It was the sinners, not the self-righteous, that he came to save. And, interestingly enough, though Jesus spoke of many occupations in his parables, the only job title he ever claimed for himself was that of a shepherd. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Christ is also the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20) and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). No other illustration so vividly portrays His tender care and guiding hand as that of the shepherd. Perhaps that is why he chose to have them and them alone as witnesses to his birth.
     
    Chapter Fourteen
    THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF 1914

    You could call it a carry-over of genteel Victorianism or view it as the all-encompassing awe that accompanies the birth of the Christ Child. Attribute it to the tug of Christmas traditions on the hearts and minds of men everywhere, if you like, or simply ascribe it to being far from home, cold, tired and lonely. Whatever its root cause, first and foremost the Christmas truce of World War I validates the commonality of all mankind.
    Keeping It in the Family
    The First World War, European in origin though it eventually encompassed everyone, had a strange and unique character to it. For instance, consider the fact that the George V of England, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Wilhelm II of Germany were first cousins . They called each other Georgie , Nicky and Willie. How could this happen? It was a case of one thing leading to another until the interlocking mutual defense alliances of Europe toppled like a house of cards. In retrospect, it seems to resemble a Keystone Kops script mor e than international diplomacy.
    Austria-Hungary’s heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Serbia. Austia -Hungary then declared war on Serbia, anticipating a limited engagement against its smaller neighbor. However, Serbia was an ally of Russia, so Russia began mobilizing in anticipation of aiding its ally. Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, took this as an act of aggression and declared war on Russia. France, bound by treaty to Russia, suddenly found itself at war with Germany. And Britain, an ally of France, declared war on Germany as well. All of Britain’s colonies and dominions quickly followed suit in short order. Japan, another ally of Britain, also joined the fighting. Italy managed to find a loophole in its treaty with Germany, but later entered the war on side of the Allies.
    Fighting from the Trenches
    World War I was a time of trench warfare in which opposing armies both dug trenches on either side of the line of combat. The troops faced each other across this relatively narrow no man’s land while lobbing grenades back and forth and mounting occasional assaults on each other ’s position . Looking back nearly a hundred years, it is easy to see that World War I had little about it to motivate the common soldier. It fit the classic definition of war being a game old men, or in this case royalty, played with young men’s lives.
    The First Christmas of the War
    By December, 1914 the weather was cold and wet. The trenches turned to mud and muck and were sometimes knee-deep in dirty water. Meanwhile, the war itself seemed to have reached a stalemate. As Christmas drew near various groups began agitate for a truce. A group of 101 British Suffragists composed The Open Christmas Letter , a public