Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men? Quiz

Answer: Princess Mary

Princess Mary, the daughter of King George V, was just 17 years old in 1914. She thought it terribly sad that so many soldiers would be away from their families for the holiday and would not be receiving gifts, so she decided to pay, from her personal funds, for a small brass gift box to be given to every member of the British armed forces. Most of these boxes contained an ounce of tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a lighter, and a photograph of Princess Mary.

A different box was also given for non-smokers, and contained writing supplies (pencils, paper, envelopes) and/or extra rations or sweets. Different boxes were also made for those with dietary restrictions or different religious beliefs, especially the Indian troops.

Answer: Stille Nacht

According to the popular tale, the German began decorating their trenches as best they could with candles in trees and singing "Stille Nacht", or "Silent Night", an original German carol. In some places on the front line, the British soldiers responded with English carols, and eventually some soldiers from each side met in No Man's Land, to exchange season's greetings and small gifts (e.g. tobacco, sweets, etc.) and even to play soccer together.

This the romanticized notion of the Christmas 'Truce' - the image of bitter enemies fraternizing in the midst of a war zone.

While it is certainly true that this happened in some places, the so-called truce was really just an unofficial ceasefire and most soldiers kept to their own side of the line and passed a quiet Christmas.

Answer: It varied greatly at different parts of the front line

Because it was very unofficial (and in fact was strongly discouraged by military higher-ups), the 'Truce' had no specific end point. In some areas, it lasted just Christmas Eve, or until the evening of Christmas Day. In other places, it was a couple of days of quiet non-aggression, while in other places still, the unspoken ceasefire lasted until just after New Year's Day.

It depended mostly on the orders that were coming from the High Command and whether or not the officers at the front chose to strictly follow those orders.

Answer: Hong Kong

At this time, the British did not think that Japanese aggression against Hong Kong was a great threat and thus had only a small garrison stationed there, along with two Canadian infantry battalions. The Pacific War exploded quickly, though, when several places in the Pacific were attacked on the same day (including Pearl Harbor, but because of the time difference between Hawaii and Asia, the Pearl Harbor attack is recorded as occurring on 7 December).

The Battle for Hong Kong went on for 17 days, with the Canadian battalions trying desperately not to give up a Crown colony, at the cost of many lives. On the morning of Christmas Day, Japanese troops tortured and killed more than 60 people at a British field hospital. Later that day, the Governor of Hong Kong personally surrendered the colony at Japanese headquarters.

Answer: Stalingrad

While no Christmas was particularly easy or pleasant during the war, 1942 was probably the worst for Germany. The Sixth Army was trapped in the Stalingrad Pocket in the winter during the Battle of Stalingrad which had started the previous June. Winter in Russia is no picnic, but the Germans tried to have a Christmas anyway.

They had the best meal they could come up with, held quiet worship sessions, recited the Christmas story from the Bible, sang carols, and, most spectacularly, they lit up the sky over Stalingrad by firing off flares of different colors.

The Sixth Army was surrounded by Soviet troops and cut off from supply lines. By February 1943, every member of the Sixth Army was captured as a POW, killed in battle, or had died from the cold or lack of food.

Answer: No

At the time of the first Christmas of the war, 1939, food rationing had not yet come into effect, and there were only a few restrictions on things such as lit Christmas trees in windows, and people were encouraged not to overspend. By Christmas 1940, the Blitz had begun and so had rationing, on several items. For Christmas that year, tea and sugar rations were increased, and there were lots of products (such as wine and spirits) that were not rationed, so Christmas on the home front was not too much of a hardship. Rationing had increased for the following Christmas, including further restrictions on food, and now restrictions on clothing and fuel as well. 1941 was really when Christmas really stopped being 'Christmas' in Britain - there were no geese, no wrapping paper, hardly any sweets or liquor, and store-bought Christmas gifts were extremely rare. Christmas continued as such until the end of the war, with almost no traditional supplies available, but also with a "let's make do" attitude.

Answer: Visiting orphanages

In 1950, Korea was another war in which many participants thought they'd be "home by Christmas". The first winter in Korea has been recorded as being particularly bitter and cold, with a lot of snow. By 1951, the tradition of visiting orphanages and bringing Christmas cheer to needy Korean children had started; some personal accounts available on the Internet suggest that the practice was started when some soldiers took pity on children who had nowhere to go home to, and gave them some of the extra rations they'd received for Christmas.

This turned into bringing more food to more orphans, and over the next couple of years, American G.I.s were featured in the news for visiting orphans, bringing them Christmas presents, and even dressing up as Santa Claus.

Answer: Vietnam

John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band recorded the song in 1971. It was based on a 1969 campaign that the peace activist couple had undertaken, in which they bought billboard and ad space in cities around the world and put up huge signs that read "WAR IS OVER (If you want it). Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". By 1971, the Vietnam war was extremely unpopular in the US and this protest song was meant to increase the displeasure that many Americans felt for their country's involvement in the conflict.

Answer: Bob Hope

Bob Hope's USO shows were held regularly during America's involvement in the Vietnam war, and special Christmas shows were performed as well. The first Bob Hope Christmas special was held on 19 December 1966 at Dragon Mountain. The 1970 and 1971 specials are included on the list of Top 30 US Network Primetime Telecasts of All Time and were watched by more than 60% of Americans.

Answer: Operation Linebacker II

Towards the end of American involvement in Vietnam, from 8 December until 30 December, cities in North Vietnam, especially Hanoi and Haiphong, were bombed repeatedly in an "unprecedented air assault". The reason given for this bombing campaign was that Hanoi was refusing to enter into peace talks.

However, it has been suggested that the real impediment to peace talks was the US's ally, Saigon. Operation Linebacker II was the continuation of Operation Linebacker, a series of air attacks that had taken place the previous summer and into the fall.