 The Christmas truce ( German : <unk> ; French : <unk> de Noël ) was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914 . In the week leading up to the holiday , German and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk . In areas , men from both sides ventured into no man 's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs . There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps , while several meetings ended in carol @-@ singing . Men played games of football with one another , giving one of the most memorable images of the truce . Peaceful behaviour was not ubiquitous ; fighting continued in some sectors , while in others the sides settled on little more than arrangements to recover bodies . 
