I used to be one of those mischievous little brats dotting the streets so many Christmases ago to engage in that wonderful nocturnal Yuletide pastime called caroling. Each night was a separate adventure, and each night brought renewed vigor and excitement.
Caroling then was regarded as one of the customary trappings of the season to celebrate the coming of the Savior. The good tidings sung by carolers were reminiscent of the angels’ announcement to the shepherds that the Savior had been born. And so our songs easily found their way into the homes of people who good-naturedly parted with their coins and goodies, ranging from delicious pastillas de mani to sticky bars of bubble gum, from the 16th to the 24th of December.
We learned our carols by heart and sang the songs with love—perhaps because then, there were only a few carols to go around, with “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World” and “Jingle Bells” as the all-time durables.
Caroling was a treasured activity and was not considered properly done without the lighted parol (lantern) to clear the way from house to house. Never mind that the lantern had lost its tail along the way or that the lighted candle inside had charred one point of the star, or even that the candle had been stolen from some mother’s altar. It was Christmas and such things were easily forgiven.
And so, every night somewhere in our neighborhood, our childish voices rose accompanied by that ubiquitous and unique musical instrument made of flattened bottle caps nailed to a piece of wood. Because our parents didn’t have to worry then about kids being out in the streets till late, many of us went out caroling and made the world our own and Christmastime our time. From the 16th of December our lanterns became like so many giant fireflies lighting the night streets.
I remember that groups of adult carolers wanting to raise funds for a particular project rehearsed for weeks, sending letters to families informing them of the time and date of their visit. These groups were often met not only with generous donations but also tables of food.
But, alas, the changing times have affected everything, including our quaint caroling custom.
Today, many children go caroling without the lighted parol and the tambourine made of bottle caps. They sing in darkness and their songs have lost the joy and merriment of our voices many Christmases past.
On top of that, the beautiful Christmas carols that have been handed down through the years have deteriorated to nonsensical musical garbage, to the anguish, I am sure, of their original composers. Now children indifferently mouth words that sound like the Christmas songs and do not care about learning the correct lyrics. Many solemn Christmas hymns have been jazzed up with an irreverent modern tempo and slapstick Yuletide compositions fill the air, making our classic carols sound like they had gone out of fashion along with good taste. And the windows and doors of many houses are closed early to discourage wassailing children. Letters sent by adult caroling groups are received with trepidation and accepted halfheartedly if not rejected outright.
It is a pity that the beautiful practice of caroling, which was originally intended to bring good cheer to others and so much fun to children during the Christmas season, has succumbed to pressures of the economy and assumed such a materialistic reason for being—and, probably because of that, has slowly found its demise. The consequent tragedy is our loss of affection for the hard-toiled compositions that were originally written to herald and record the arrival of the Savior of humankind.
But the greater tragedy would be if our growing disaffection for Christmas carols is actually a reflection of our growing disaffection also for Him who gave us reason for celebrating Christmas.
Linda Cababa-Espinosa, EdD, is a retired professor of English and literature at the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) in Zamboanga City. She completed her master’s degree in American studies at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu; summer studies in George Washington University in Washington through an East-West Center scholarship; and her doctorate in education at the WMSU through FAPE and WMSU scholarships.