The true spirit of Christmas cannot be captured in fairytale endings, the Archbishop of Canterbury will tell the faithful. Delivering his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop will remind worshippers that the infamous battlefield detente between German and British troops a hundred years ago was all too brief. 'At Christmas 1914, soldiers took the risk, crossed a battleline and kindled an evening of friendship and football,' he is expected to say. The true spirit of Christmas cannot be captured in fairytale endings, the Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured) will tell the faithful . 'It is the moment all have picked on this year, whether in adverts or sermons. 'The truce illustrates something of the heart of Christmas, whereby God sends his Son, that vulnerable sign of peace, to a weary war-torn world. 'The problem is that the way it is told now it seems to end with a "happy ever after". 'Of course we like Christmas stories with happy endings: singing carols, swapping photos, shaking hands, sharing chocolate, but the following day the war continued with the same severity. 'Nothing had changed; it was a one-day wonder. Delivering his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop will remind worshippers that the infamous battlefield detente between German and British troops a hundred years ago was all too brief . 'That is not the world in which we live, truces are rare.' He is expected to urge worshippers not to reduce the story of Christmas to something 'utterly remote, about lives entirely different, fictional, naive, tidy'. 'Jesus came to the reality of this world to transform that reality - not to take us into some fantasy kind of "happy ever after" but to "Good News of great joy for all people",' the Archbishop is expected to say.
Battlefield detente between German and British troops 100 years ago 'too brief', Archbishop of Canterbury will say .
He will urge worshippers not to reduce the story of Christmas to something 'utterly remote'
Justin Welby will deliver Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral .
The true spirit of Christmas cannot be captured in fairytale endings, the Archbishop of Canterbury will tell the faithful. Delivering his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop will remind worshippers that the infamous battlefield detente between German and British troops a hundred years ago was all too brief. 'At Christmas 1914, soldiers took the risk, crossed a battleline and kindled an evening of friendship and football,' he is expected to say. The true spirit of Christmas cannot be captured in fairytale endings, the Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured) will tell the faithful . 'It is the moment all have picked on this year, whether in adverts or sermons. 'The truce illustrates something of the heart of Christmas, whereby God sends his Son, that vulnerable sign of peace, to a weary war-torn world. 'The problem is that the way it is told now it seems to end with a "happy ever after". 'Of course we like Christmas stories with happy endings: singing carols, swapping photos, shaking hands, sharing chocolate, but the following day the war continued with the same severity. 'Nothing had changed; it was a one-day wonder. Delivering his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop will remind worshippers that the infamous battlefield detente between German and British troops a hundred years ago was all too brief . 'That is not the world in which we live, truces are rare.' He is expected to urge worshippers not to reduce the story of Christmas to something 'utterly remote, about lives entirely different, fictional, naive, tidy'. 'Jesus came to the reality of this world to transform that reality - not to take us into some fantasy kind of "happy ever after" but to "Good News of great joy for all people",' the Archbishop is expected to say.
infamous battlefield detente between German and British troops a hundred years ago was all too Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the worshippers not to reduce the story of Christmas to something 'utterly remote, about lives