Christmas Miracles 圣誕奇跡

Christmas is a time for miracles. It is also a time when the dull things of daily life and the forecast of human nature gives way to a spiritual awakening. Allow me to share with you one truly wonder （奇跡） of Christmas.

Our miracle story comes from an incident （插曲） that occurred in Flanders， Belgium， at the dawn of World War I. On December 24th， 1914， German and English troops （軍隊） faced each other from the relative safety of their ditches （渠） across which no man’s land lying between them. Suddenly， the silence was broken， not by gunfire， but by the strains （樂曲） of Silent Night arising from the German position. It wasn’t long before the English troops responded with a Yuletide hymn of their own. Then an amazing sight surprised the eyes of the English soldiers. A German soldier holding a small tree arranged with lighted candles began to walk across the land toward the English lines. This miraculous scene occasioned （引起） the declaration （宣布） of a truce （休戰） followed by English and German troops greeting one another， exchanging small gifts and singing songs of Christmas. Word of this incredible （難以置信的） phenomenon （現象） reached the High Command （指揮） of both sides. On Christmas Day， both armies moved from their positions to engage in the killing of war at other battlefields. However， on Christmas Eve 1914 on a field in Flanders， there was Peace on Earth.

圣誕節是一個產生奇跡的節日。它也是人們從單調的日常生活和關于人性的種種預言中覺醒的日子。請允許我與各位分享一個真正的圣誕奇跡。

這個奇跡故事來自發生在第一次世界大戰的黎明時分，比利時的弗蘭德省的一件事。在1914年12月24日，英德兩軍分別在各自相對安全的戰壕中對峙，誰都不敢越雷池一步。突然間夜空的寧靜被打破，不是由槍聲，而是由從德國陣地中傳來的《平安夜》的曲調打破。不久英國軍隊中也奏響了他們自己的《圣誕季節》之歌。緊接著，一個令人驚奇的景象著實讓英國士兵吃了一驚。一位德國士兵手持一棵小樹，樹上整齊地排列著點燃的蠟燭，他越過邊界走向英國陣地。這一奇跡般的景象使雙方暫時休戰，英德兩軍互相問候，交換小禮物，唱圣誕歌。這一令人無法置信的情況傳到雙方最高指揮官耳中。在圣誕節，兩軍離開各自的陣地轉戰其他陣地進行大規模屠殺。然而在1914年平安夜，在弗蘭德省的戰場上卻出現過和平。