I have a scratched up record that has been played so many times it no longer works but I can’t seem to throw it out. Snoopy’s Christmas is still one of my favourite songs.

The song was a hit for the Royal Guardsmen in 1967 and it’s about how Snoopy had to go out and fight the Red Baron on Christmas Eve but the two enemies set aside their differences for that night. In the end, they share a holiday toast and then Snoopy and the Red Baron fly their separate ways, “Knowing they’d meet some other day.”

The idea that two enemies can show each other grace for a night still amazes me. Obviously the song is fictional but the idea behind the lyrics are actually rooted in fact.

During World War I in 1914, an event known as the “Christmas Truce” took place between the Germans and the British. It was started by the soldiers themselves who exchanged tobacco and beer rather than bloodshed. Most astonishing, the troops from both sides shared pictures of their families with each other and used “No Man’s Land” to play a friendly game of football a.k.a soccer.

Around Christmas, grace becomes a popular topic especially when the family rolls into town. I am someone to whom much grace is given and who often conveys the absolute opposite.

Still according to Judeo-Christian traditions, there is a current of grace weaving through our patterns of existence. Sometimes it smacks you in the face. It’s the moment when you don’t get fired for screwing up at work or that time you didn’t get that speeding ticket you deserved. It’s often much deeper than that.

Some of us get hints of grace – when we admire a view, listen to music, fall in love. Some people seem to live out grace in a way that is almost incomprehensible.

I can’t help but think about Nelson Mandela. He was imprisoned for 27 years; most expected that when he emerged, he would be riddled with a lust for retribution. But the world has been amazed; instead of spewing calls for revenge, he urged his own people to work for reconciliation -- and invited his former jailer to attend his presidential inauguration as a VIP guest. It’s inconceivable.

I also think about Gordon Wilson whose daughter died in 1987 in an IRA car bomb. He heard his 20-year old daughter Marie say, “Daddy I love you very much,” just before she died in the rubble of a bomb blast.

The next day he told the media – “Marie’s last words were of love. It would be no way for me to remember her by having words of hatred in my mouth”

It’s heavy stuff and I don’t know how I would respond in the same situation. We are given so many examples of ungrace, The test papers come back with errors – not correct answers – highlighted. All this helps prepare us for the real world with it relentless ranking, a grown-up version of the playground game 'king of the hill'.

Maybe that’s why the stories of grace and forgiveness emerge so brightly. We want to be accepted despite our shortcomings, we want to be shown grace. It’s a crazy concept and goes against the very nature of ourselves.

Still in the words of the Royal Guardsmen, I learned a bit about grace from a cartoon character.

--
The Baron made Snoopy fly to the Rhine
And forced him to land behind the enemy lines
Snoopy was certain that this was the end
When the Baron cried out, "Merry Christmas, my friend"

The Baron then offered a holiday toast
And Snoopy, our hero, saluted his host
And then with a roar they were both on their way
Each knowing they'd meet on some other day.