As Ticos awake to another tranquil Christmas in one of the world’s most peaceful democracies, it bears importance to remember Christmas Day almost a quarter of a century ago, when Costa Rica assumed a crucial role as a mediator for peace in the region.

On December 25th, 1987, world leaders were closely monitoring hostilities in Nicaragua, a country which, along with Afghanistan, had become the last bastion of the main Cold War belligerents in the 1980s. The conflict in Nicaragua between the Soviet-backed Sandinistas and the American-supported Contras had been raging since 1979, and there were serious concerns about how much longer it would go on for. The people of Nicaragua paid a heavy toll for that proxy war: prior to the Contras the Sandinistas had managed to topple the oppressive Somoza dictatorship years before; yet the ensuing counter-rebellion caused about 50,000 deaths by 1987. Poverty and human rights violations were rampant in the Nicaraguan landscape of the 1980s; violence and political subjugation were daily facts of life.

President Oscar Arias had a lot to worry about in 1987. The country was experiencing hyperinflation and less-than-stellar economic growth. The number of Nicaraguan refugees had grown significantly, and it began to put a strain on the country’s public health and welfare system. Ticos were certainly between a rock and a hard place; Panama was under a military dictatorship which had become unstable, and the Nicaraguan conflict threatened to spill over to the south. While previous administrations in Costa Rica had allowed a certain level of protection from the United States, Oscar Arias disliked the ugly byproducts that resulted from allowing secret operations in the country. He had been deeply involved in the Central American peace process, and as a Nobel Peace Laureate, he was not about to stop. He wanted nothing less than a complete end to hostilities.

Looking back to those turbulent times, it’s almost incredible to think that the President of a small peaceful agricultural nation could exert any influence over the leaders of the most powerful military nations on Earth, but that’s exactly what Oscar Arias did. In 1987 he traveled to the U.S. White House to meet with Ronald Reagan, a man who wasn’t exactly known to be affable, and essentially asked him to stop intervening in the region. He then suggested that the Soviets to do the same. He called for a truce in Nicaragua over Christmas Day, knowing that even the most hardened combatants would enjoy a peaceful holiday. In mid-December, Daniel Ortega agreed to order his forces to lay down his weapons, and the Contra leaders agreed to follow suit.

The tension of the Nicaraguan Christmas truce was felt around the world. Global citizens felt that the Cold War had gone on for far too long, and that Nicaragua had turned into a playground for stalwart warmongers. Over Christmas Eve, the signs of a truce were encouraging. While sporadic clashes were reported in the country on that day; Oscar Arias succeeded in initiating the eventual end to hostilities. Four years later, the hammer and sickle red flag of the Soviet Union was lowered on the Kremlin on Christmas Day, 1991; putting a formal end to the Cold War and guaranteeing that Nicaragua could no longer be the unwitting host of a proxy war.

Peace, that most precious of gifts, is often taken for granted. For the people of Nicaragua 24 years ago, peace was the most precious gift they could ever hope to get for Christmas. As you enjoy the rest of the holidays in the good company of family and friends, take a moment to appreciate the sheer joy that peace brings to your life.

Merry Christmas