by Lucas, age 9 from Ypres, Belgium, asks Santa about the 1914 Christmas Truce, Ypres’s wartime history, and yearly remembrance traditions.
Dear Santa, my name is Lucas, and I am nine years old. I live in Ypres, Belgium, where my opa says something remarkable happened right near our town during a war, more than a hundred years ago, on Christmas Day itself.
Dear Lucas, I remember that particular Christmas well, and it remains one of the most quietly extraordinary nights I have ever flown over.
Santa, I have three questions.
Do you know about the Christmas Truce? My opa says soldiers from opposite sides stopped fighting for one day, just for Christmas.
I do know about it, Lucas, and your opa tells it well. In 1914, soldiers who had been fighting each other put down their weapons on Christmas Day, met peacefully in the space between their lines, sang carols together, and even shared small gifts, before returning to their posts. It remains one of the clearest reminders in all of history that kindness can reach even the hardest, saddest moments.
My teacher says Ypres was right in the middle of where a lot of the fighting happened during that war. Is that true?
It is true, Lucas, Ypres and the surrounding fields saw some of the most difficult fighting of that entire war. I always fly a slow, respectful pass over your town, honoring the memory of everyone who lived through it.
My opa says towns like ours still hold ceremonies every year to remember what happened. Is that true?
It is true, Lucas, communities across this region still gather each year to remember and honor that history, keeping its lessons alive for new generations. Remembering carefully, and choosing kindness because of it, is exactly the kind of thing I hope every child carries forward, Christmas and every day after.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Lucas Peeters
Ypres, Belgium
P.S. Did you actually see the truce happen from your sleigh?
I did, Lucas, from a careful, quiet distance, and I have never forgotten it.
