Christmas is a time of giving. Friends and family exchange gifts, Santa leaves presents for all the good little boys and girls, and shoppers stop to deposit their spare change with the Salvation Army.

No group exemplifies the spirit of giving more than the American troops in Iraq. These selfless men and women have given up their daily conveniences, their jobs, time with their families, and their traditional Christmases to serve their country. More than 1,000 soldiers have even given their lives in service.

Such sacrifice has been commonplace throughout the history of war. Nobody expects the fighting in Iraq to cease so that American soldiers can enjoy Christmas. Holidays come and go, but war leaves no time for celebration. There is an exception to every rule, however, even in times of war.

That exception came on Christmas Day, 1914, during the early stages of World War I. On that day, the constant firing stopped as English and German troops emerged from the trenches and met hand to hand in No Man’s Land to celebrate an informal Christmas Truce.

At one part of the front line, German soldiers slipped a cake into a British trench and requested a temporary cease-fire in celebration of their captain’s birthday and the holiday season. The British troops accepted, and exchanged tobacco for the cake. For these soldiers, Christmas Eve was filled with singing.

At another point of the line, German soldiers celebrated Christmas by placing small candle-lit trees outside their trenches. When the British soldiers noticed this, they began exchanging yells of Christmas cheer with the Germans. Soon, men from both sides of the battlefield ventured into No Man’s Land, exchanging gifts, liquor and stories from home.

The two armies even played a game of soccer, waging war with the ball rather than their guns.

The day was much more somber for many other soldiers, who saw the informal truce as a chance to venture into No Man’s Land and give their fallen compatriots proper burials. Regardless of how soldiers spent the day, the Christmas Truce was a powerful example of peace and camaraderie, when warring soldiers were willing to defy orders and display friendship in the spirit of Christmas.

Rarely has the world seen warfare as fierce as that of WWI. However, if some of the fiercest enemies in history could find peace during Christmas Day in 1914, perhaps there is hope that peace can be achieved even in the tumultuous world of today.