"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined."
Isaiah 9:1
"Late on Christmas Eve 1914, men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) heard Germans troops in the trenches opposite them singing carols and patriotic songs and saw lanterns and small fir trees along their trenches. Messages began to be shouted between the trenches.
The following day, British and German soldiers met in no man's land and exchanged gifts, took photographs and some played impromptu games of football. They also buried casualties and repaired trenches and dugouts. After Boxing Day, meetings in no man's land dwindled out.
The truce was not observed everywhere along the Western Front. Elsewhere the fighting continued and casualties did occur on Christmas Day. Some officers were unhappy at the truce and worried that it would undermine fighting spirit.
After 1914, the High Commands on both sides tried to prevent any truces on a similar scale happening again. Despite this, there were some isolated incidents of soldiers holding brief truces later in the war, and not only at Christmas."
British Imperial War Museum, The Real Story of the Christmas Truce
"Christmas celebration this year is going to be a charade because the whole world is at war. We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes– all decked out – while the world continues to wage war.
It’s all a charade. The world has not understood the way of peace.
What shall remain in the wake of this war, in the midst of which we are living now? What shall remain? Ruins, thousands of children without education, so many innocent victims, and lots of money in the pockets of arms dealers.”
Francis I, November 22, 2015
"War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it."
George Orwell
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Ephesians 6:12
It would be a suitable gesture if Russia were publicly to offer a 'Christmas truce' in its conflict in the Ukraine, from December 25th to January 7th, and it would be equally interesting to see if it would be accepted.
The truce would be for caring for the wounded, a respite for the fighters and civilians and other affected parties, but not for the installation and deployment of new weapons systems or fortifications.
In this sort of conflict the interests of the locals can become subordinated to the greater designs and covetousness among their elite, and the greater principalities and powers of the world.
And for this reason there seems to be little hope for an end to the violence and bloodshed. The people who hope to gain are not among those who suffer for their ambitions.
VIX plummeted. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Stocks drifted higher.
The Dollar edged up.
Gold and silver backed off a bit from their recent gains.
Trading will begin to grow even more quiet, especially if there is a lack of exogenous events.
Need little, want less, love more. For those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them.
The madness serves none but itself.
Have a pleasant evening.
