'Kersfees 1914' - An inspiring Christmas story of more than a century ago pays it forward
A story and a song of hope for Christmas, featuring André Schwartz, Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp and Coenie de Villiers.
In these times of war and rumours of war André Schwartz, Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp and Coenie de Villiers came together to create a story and a song of hope.
The South African trio released the song completely free of charge with no royalty costs. Their aim is for listeners of the song to share their sentiment of hope and donate a small amount to an accredited NGO or charity of their choice.
Click below to pay it forward this holiday season and donate to Jacaranda FM's Good Morning Angels fund:
It all started on a battlefield more than one hundred years ago …
On Christmas Eve 1914 the First World War was embroiled in fierce battles on the Western Front in Europe. The outlook was grim and conditions terrible. Rain was pelting down, it was snowing and the trenches were filled with ice and blood. The Allied forces were comprised of Britain and France on the one side, and – opposite the no-man’s land between – the German forces experienced the same ravages.
Then a miracle happened.
The soldiers on either side started singing carols, and slowly the armies on both sides began to sing together. One by one, soldiers crawled from their trenches to meet the enemy in no-man’s land. Not a single shot was fired. They shook hands, shared whatever meagre luxuries they had with them, and even played soccer with crushed tin cans.
For the first time in history – and, alas, for the last time – mankind agreed in an unspoken pact to end hostilities and to stop killing each other as a gesture of peace over Christmas. The war started up again some days later, but for a couple of days over Christmas, an armistice of peace reigned over the battlefields of Europe.
Listen to the full song here:
How did this story lead to a song and charity campaign more than a century later?
In these times of war and rumours of war – and with Christmas just around the corner – the story was too good and too relevant to ignore for South African singer and recording star André Schwartz, award-winning composer and musician Coenie de Villiers and beloved media-personality and all-round talent Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp.
“I cannot think of a more relevant story for our times,” says De Villiers. He wrote a song about the events of 1914, and Schwartz and Afrika-Bredenkamp joined forces in the studio to record it. They invited the incredible Mzansi Youth Choir to join in. Not only did they add their trademark singing to the recording, but the Mzansi Youth Choir added an extra layer of meaning to the lyrics, which are in Afrikaans but now also have Zulu, Xhosa and SeSotho added to the narrative.
“The women’s voices are now in conversation with Elana’s amazing vocals,” says De Villiers. “They are calling for the men to come back from the battlefields and to join their families in peace. It simply makes the meaning of the song so much more universal.”