I’ve been hearing a lot lately about the “Christmas Star” that will appear in the sky on December 21st. The so-called “star” will be the closest visible conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 800 years.
On December 21 (the winter solstice) the two planets will appear nearly aligned, resulting in a very uncommon event — one that hasn’t happened in 800 years. When something extremely rare or unexpected happens, we often say, “the planets aligned.” In this case, it’s more than just a “saying.”
I think this is pretty cool, and weather permitting, I intend to check it out. However, from what I’ve read, timing is important — the “Christmas Star” won’t be visible the whole night, you’ll only be able to see it for about an hour shortly after sunset.
Some people see this, happening so close to Christmas, as a Christmas miracle or maybe the star of Bethlehem… no matter what you call it, it seems like a pretty special event.
This got me to thinking about events in history that have happened on Christmas over the years. I remember one year I took a break from Vietnam over Christmas and spent it in Manila. That year (1968) Apollo 8 orbited the moon. The three astronauts on board became the first men to leave Earth’s gravitational pull, first to orbit the moon, first to view all of Earth from space and the first to see the dark side of the moon. I remember watching as the astronauts read the opening lines of the book of Genesis from the Bible. The broadcast ended with the line “Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.” I watched the telecast on a black and white TV in the Hyatt Hotel in Manila.
All of this prompted me to do some extensive research about significant events that have happened on Christmas over the years.
In the year 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
Charlemagne was a Frankish warrior king who united much of the continent under the banner of the Carolingian Empire. He is often called the “Father of Europe.” On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “emperor of the Romans” in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica. Charlemagne served as emperor for 13 years, and his legal and educational reforms sparked a cultural revival and unified much of Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire.
In 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned king of England.
He was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London. The coordination came just after William’s legendary invasion of the British Isles, that had ended with a victory over King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. William’s 21-year rule saw the building of famous structures like the Tower of London and Windsor Castle. He also gave large land grants to his French-speaking allies. This permanently changed the development of the English language (nearly one-third of modern English is derived from French words.) It also contributed to the rise of the feudal system of government that characterized much of the Middle Ages.
In 1776 George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River.
Near the end of 1776, the Revolutionary War wasn’t going well for the colonial forces. On Christmas Day, General George Washington led 2,400 troops on a daring nighttime crossing of the icy Delaware River — and launched a surprise December 26th attack on Trenton, which was held by a force of German soldiers known as Hessians. Washington’s gamble paid off — many of the Hessians were a bit hung over from the previous night’s holiday bender and the colonial forces defeated them with minimal bloodshed. This crossing of the Delaware served as a crucial rallying cry for the Continental Army.
In 1814, The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812.
On Christmas Eve,the United States and Great Britain sat down to sign a peace agreement ending the War of 1812. The treaty was signed in Ghent, Belgium. British forces had burned the White House and the U.S. Capitol earlier in the year, but the American and British delegations agreed to a settlement that essentially ended the war as a draw. All conquered territories were relinquished, and captured soldiers and vessels were returned to their respective nations.
(Interestingly, the Treaty of Ghent effectively ended the 32-month war, but it didn’t take effect in the United States until it was ratified —in February, 1815. One of the greatest American victories of the war — the Battle of New Orleans occurred more than a week after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed.)
In 1868, President Andrew Johnson issued a final pardon to Confederate soldiers.
Near the end of his term as president, Andrew Johnson give a handful of former Confederate rebels a Christmas present. By way of proclamation 179, on December 25, 1868, Johnson issued amnesty to “all and every person” who had fought against the United States during the Civil War. The Christmas pardon stood as a final and unconditional act of forgiveness for unreconstructed Southerners, including many former Confederate generals.
In 1914, The World War I Christmas Truce was reached.
On the evening of December 24, scores of German, British and French troops in Belgium laid down their arms and initiated a spontaneous holiday ceasefire. The truce was reportedly instigated by the Germans, who decorated their trenches with Christmas trees and candles and began singing carols like “Silent Night.” British troops responded with their own rendition of “The First Noel,” and all eventually ventured into “no man’s land” — the treacherous, bombed-out space that separated the trenches, where they greeted one another and shook hands.
According to accounts from the men involved, the soldiers shared cigarettes and whiskey and some exchanged Christmas presents with men they had been shooting at only hours before. The truce was not sanctioned by the officers on either side, and eventually the men were called back to their respective trenches to resume fighting. Later attempts at holiday meetings were mostly forbidden, but the “Christmas Truce” still stands as a remarkable example of shared humanity and brotherhood on the battlefield.
The Christmas Truce is a great example of what Christmas is all about. It seems hard to believe that soldiers in a World War can put down their weapons and shake hands, and Republicans and Democrats can’t sit down together and talk about what’s right for their country. Maybe this will be the year for a true Christmas Miracle, maybe the “Christmas Star” is a sign, maybe this Christmas will be remembered for more than more Americans died on December 25 than any other Christmas in our history.
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