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our Battalion, about seven-fifteen, to find quite a large number of trucks in the area already. We entered the tent to find it jammed, so that it was necessary for everyone to stand up. By seven-thirty, the tent was no longer large enough, as there were over three-hundred soldiers present, very much to the chaplain’s surprise, as fifty was a good-sized crowd for his regular Friday night services. It seems that sudden religious yearnings on the New Year is not unknown in the army as in civilian life, and all the men that had been indifferent during the year, suddenly had become conscious of their religion. The Chaplain was greatly surprised, but undoubtedly pleased. At first, he was going to hold two services, but then decided to hold it outside, and we formed a large circle with the chaplain in the center. They were laughingly called Blackout Services, as it was completely dark, and the only light that could be seen was a blacked-out flashlight that someone held on the Chaplain’s prayer book. Our part in the services was strictly limited, yet they were very impressive to me. One of the things that make the services attractive is the continuous responsive reading and singing by the congregation, a good part of it being in English.

As the services went on, I looked around and noticed two small trees at the Chaplain’s back that could well have passed for candle-arbres. Behind the trees was the dim outlines of a mountain, near the top of which, there was quite a large blaze, which the Chaplain laughingly referred to as a convenient light of candles for the holiday.

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