Stillenacht

Since the contest is over, I've decided to talk a little more about this piece which, in many cases don't feel like Christmas but is the most Christmas thing I could think of when I started drawing it.

It was said that during the Christmas of 1914, during World War I, two mutual enemies united in a mutual space somewhere on the war front in Germany. This was not global, nor widespread, and it wasn't even encouraged by some of the soldiers' superiors, but the Germans climbed out of their trenches and the Frenchmen, Belgians and Britons climbed out of their trenches. They exchanged gifts, traded cigarettes, and sang carols.

“First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until when we started up ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ the Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words Adeste Fideles. And I thought, well, this is really a most extraordinary thing ­– two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.”
- Graham williams ( time.com/3643889/christmas-tru… )

Perhaps this isn't even true, but I think many people believe it is because they want it to be true: the song that began this was Silent Night. 

Weintraub said it started with German officer, Walter Kirchhoff, a tenor with the Berlin Opera.

"He came forward and sang Silent Night in German, and then in English. In the clear, cold night of Christmas Eve, his voice carried very far.

"The shooting had stopped and in that silence he sang and the British knew the song and sang back."

Gradually the troops crawled forward into No Man's Land, said Weintraub.

The song had a deep impact on many of the soldiers.

"Soldiers … wrote home the day after to their families, to their wives, and to their parents, saying, 'You won't believe this. It was like a waking dream.'"

"They recognized that on both ends of the rifle, they were the same."

( www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british… )


World War I was very costly in terms of lives. It claimed lives in the double-digit millions across the world. It left many widows and fatherless children. It left many frustrated people who, for ethnicity or gender or other limitations could not fight alongside their family. But on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day, and extending a few days longer, it prolonged the lives of the men who were to die in the next skirmish. It brought people together.

Picarto is also a community that brings together people. There will be people who think drawing pornography is wrong, people who disagree with homosexuality or depictions of it, people who dislike anthropomorphism, people who think that if you don't draw various ethnicities of body types that you're the scum of the earth.... however, everyone who gathers on Picarto is there because there is something they want to show or something that they want to be shown. Find thing common ground is as if finding a common song --- respecting each other's opinions, communicating, simply enjoying that despite all the differences we all have, we can admire each other for being hardworking, for being skilled, for being dedicated. That is what Silent Night is meant to represent. An era of peace.

I thought that I would share this since as I drew it, I wanted it to be drawn for the community. We are currently in a time where we can enjoy the luxuries that our ancestors couldn't. We mostly live in relative peace. However, many people have originated from places of strive. There is still violence happening daily. The world can be made a better place. If Picarto becomes a perpetual Silent Night, similar to the Carol sung in 1914 from the war trenches of Germany, perhaps we are capable of something more than we give ourselves credit for.

That knowledge, or reminder, was my Christmas present to Picarto.

Hope you enjoyed the read!

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Contest entry for 's christmas contest.

I didn't like that christmas is all about the reds and the greens. Originally, I wanted to do something white and gold but it didn't fit the aesthetic I wanted so I changed it to white and blue.
The concept comes from the song Silent Night, which is one of the most iconic Christmas songs in history.

I'm not satisfied with the pidgeons at all. They don't match the figure in the least. I was rushed for time (finished 15 min before deadline) so I guess I'll just leave it at that.