A KINDER, GENTLER TIME!

We had carolers sing at our door a few nights ago.  They come every year to the homes here in Heron Woods Retirement Village.  They’re brought by David and Beverly Whalen who also live in our village.  We assume they’re a church group.  They always bring a nice plate of cookies!  😊

This is a rare practice in the twenty-first century.  Perhaps people don’t like to be intruded on; after all, a person’s house is his/her castle [moat and all]!  We just don’t intrude on people these days. 

But, when I was growing up, caroling was still a common practice.  We were accustomed to hearing Perry Como singing on our radios:

Here we come a-caroling
Among the leaves so green
Here we come a-wandering
So fair to be seen

[Chorus]
Love and joy come to you
And to you glad Christmas too
And God bless you and send you
A Happy New Year
And God send you a Happy New Year

We are not daily beggars
That go from door to door
But we are friendly neighbors
Whom you have seen before
[Repeat Chorus]

We also heard Nat King Cole singing:

Caroling, caroling now we go
Christmas bells are ringing
Caroling, caroling through the snow
Christmas bells are ringing
Joyous voices sweet and clear
Sing the sad of heart to cheer
Ding, dong, ding, dong
Christmas bells are ringing

Is it any wonder that this practice was an integral part of spreading the joy of the birth of Christ?

Church groups would actually schedule visits to nursing homes and hospitals to share the joy of the season.  They would also crowd onto the porches of their shut-ins and sing several songs for their pleasure.  Sometimes we would be given cookies as a reward for our songs!  

At the New Brighton Free Methodist Church, we were blessed with a lot of folks who loved to sing.  We also had an extremely capable and sensitive song leader – Morrison Baker. He decided what we would sing and led us in our mission.  I suppose what made our group unique was not only the fact that we were a transgenerational group, but that we almost always had all four parts represented: soprano, alto, tenor and bass.  We would jam into cars [or occasionally the church bus] and caravan around our town making as many as ten or twelve stops.  We dressed appropriately and would sometimes run back to the cars to warm up. 

We were taught to be respectful in the hospitals where we would gather closely at the end of a hallway and sing several carols.  Back then, we were a welcome intrusion to the busy environment of caring for the sick.  By visiting in the early evening the staff seemed happy to welcome us! As we would walk down the hallway we were often greeted by family members who thanked us for coming!  We would go to nursing homes early enough that they would often have many gathered in a room to hear our songs.  Many would sing along with us with genuine expressions of sincerity and appreciation. 

We always went home feeling that we’d somehow made a difference by delivering a little joy of the season to those who might have felt lonely or left out!  I miss those days and the joy they brought!!