Glad tidings of great joy they bring

Carollers: Those who've spent their lives taking either the 'Deck the halls' line or the 'Fa la la la la' line. They've seen an abundance of Marys, Josephs, shepherds, wise men, angels and little drummer boys. And if they've been at it long enough, gone through the crisis stage when all the boys cracked their voices (which meant the angelic soprano could no longer take the 'Once in Royal David's City' opening solo) and the girls went through an identity crisis (Am I soprano? Am I an alto?). Finally emerging as rather confident singers, who could manage the melody, throw in a harmony (on rare occasions) and depend on the bass voices to drown out all the mistakes.

Carolling is not really a tradition for Sri Lankans, before you have visions of falling snowflakes and ear muff clad little kids. It's a practice that originated from an old Ukranian tradition which saw every family join together to sing before their Christmas supper. It was a quaint custom that caught on and was carried out through the world. And even here, in snowflake free, ear muff free, Sri Lanka, many a carol enthusiast has gone through the carolling stage; so much so that it just may pass off as a contemporary tradition. 

Tania, an 11-year-old, born into this whole carolling business just loves going carolling with the people in her scheme. Her reason being a simple, "That's one way I really get the Christmassy feeling." "I like the traditional Christmas carols," she says, "because they talk about Jesus' birth." For her, carolling is a very important part of her life. Why? "Because it isn't often that we sing together as a family. But when everyone gets together when carolling we sing together as family and good friends and that's a really good feeling."

But all of us aren't 11- years-old. Some of us, like yet another caroller Minoli, have grown up. Says Minoli rather wistfully, "I used to go out carolling a lot. It was what you could call a tradition: all the kids in the area were part of it - but we aren't kids any more." Since she started working she just doesn't seem to have the time for it anymore, although given the chance she would love to go because, as she put it, "those were some of the best times we used to have." 

Were there ever any restrictions coming from parental quarters that expressed concern over 'the children' going out? "None at all. We were always allowed out on our own, except when we were really young and needed parental supervision. It was quite safe because we never went out of our neighbourhood; our neighbours were our only audience over the years. The only real threat came from the two little terrors down the lane who somehow (thankfully) were never included in our tradition." 

Her favourite memory is eating all the sweets served at every house; she remembers this with an uncontrollable fit of giggles and quick apology. "No one wanted to send us away without seeing us stuff ourselves first and sometimes that was just impossible. The boys used to stuff their pockets with as many sweets as they could (later on they graduated to carrying shopping bags with them) and we would meet up later (having worked up a good appetite) to polish off whatever they had managed to bring." She remembers being disapproving of the "sweet collecting stunt" pulled by the boys, though that didn't stop her from tucking in when the time came. 

As a child, the tradition was extremely important for Minoli. For her, it was something they looked forward to the whole year long, so much so that as soon as the Christmas holidays started they'd meet up for "practices". "It was such a fantastic tradition," she says "but now the younger ones just don't seem to be interested in it. I suppose that's because there don't seem to be enough younger ones. So it's left to the horribly busy young adults to take the initiative."

Kevin, a one-time active caroller (who says he's been "out of it" for the past three years) has been through various "stages of carolling". He started going out carolling as part of the school choir, then as an old boy, with the church choir and finally moved onto the office choir. Now, however with his commitments to the band Déja vu, there doesn't seem to be time to go carolling. "Besides, must give the youngsters a chance," says Kevin. He adds that the whole band experience is much like going carolling - "You do the whole carol routine, only you just stand in one place."

"Carolling was originally just about having fun; it was a great reason to get together," says Kevin. "It wasn't until much later that we visited old people's homes and orphanages. That whole experience was so much more different, in addition to it being a real eye- opener to the fact that there were so many people who were left completely alone."

"Going out carolling is a lot of fun. I wouldn't call it a tradition of ours, but there are lots of groups of people for whom it's a tradition of sorts. Although I feel the enthusiasm may have died down a bit the 'tradition' is very much alive." He adds nostalgically , "It was rather interesting walking in on people who were not expecting you at about one in the morning. Disturbed from their slumber they would have to welcome us, bring out the cakes and drinks and put up with us till we decided to leave" - after all who can throw out harbingers of goodwill. 

Then there are those for whom carolling has been very much a tradition and although the carolling days are over, the memory is very much alive. "I started going out carolling as a boy. My parents were very involved in these activities and so naturally we joined in when the time came. I started playing the violin since the age of 12 and I'd go along to accompany the choir. Until very recently I used to be a regular caroller," reminisces Mr. E. Mangalasinghe.

When he was involved in going out carolling it wasn't something that involved "suddenly meeting up and going out". It was (unlike today) a well-organised event, which involved quite a long process. "We would start practices early so that our voices would be somewhat trained by the time the event came up and everybody would be familiar with carols we were going to sing. Closer to the set dates we used to send out letters or cards to let people know the date and an approximate time, so that they would be prepared for us. 

On that day all the younger children would dress up as characters from the nativity, angels being the popular option."

Carolling at the time meant going out about four or five evenings and the exuberant carollers would go on till quite late covering homes of the members of the church and just about anybody who welcomed them. It was customary to assemble at church and then set out; something Mr. Mangalasinghe did as a child and later on as an adult. He speaks of going out carolling as a tradition that made people happy - "us included for we were there to recite the word of God in song; to proclaim the birth of the Prince of Peace."

Their choir never asked for donations, he says, but eventually there used to be some coming in whenever the choir had visited homes at Christmas. "That was always used to buy prizes and organise a Christmas Party for the Sunday school children and the less fortunate children."

These were certainly good times for Mr. Mangalasinghe who remembers staying out till as late as five in the morning on some occasions. "There were people who fell asleep, but since they expected us, a light would be kept on and they would wake up to greet us when they heard the singing," he says with a laugh. 

He recaptures a particularly vivid incident: "I'll never forget one year when we didn't have transport, but we decided that it would not stop our plans because we couldn't disappoint those who were expecting us that day." 

So they walked - the whole way. "It was very tiring, not to mention the fact that we had to look after the younger ones we had taken along with us. All the way back home we kept singing at the top of our voices to keep the young ones entertained and we even stopped at a shop to have some drinks (much to the amazement of everyone around who seemed slightly surprised to see an army of 'angels' take over the place). Some people gave us odd looks, while other passers -by stopped to appreciate and enjoy the spectacle before them. That was indeed an experience." 

In Mr. Mangalasinghe's opinion this is a tradition enjoyed by children even today. Although he can't speak for people in general he can speak for the youth in his church who still go carolling. Sure the whole process may not be the same, but come Christmas the younger ones do set out to bear their 'tidings of great joy'.

Sigh, some traditions just never die, that much I can assure you of. This also means that I've got to dash now, we may hit the road one of these days and I must practise my sweet yuletide refrain, "Aney! Flat! Flat! Flat!"

Quiz

1.) What carol was originally denounced by church authorities for its "total absence of the spirit of religion"? 
1. "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen'"
2. "O Holy Night"
3. "Joy to the World"
4. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

2.) Which rock star did not record the song shown? 
1. Bob Seger / "Little Drummer Boy"
2. Sting / "I Saw Three Ships"
3. Whitney Houston / "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
4. Ricky Martin / "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"

3.) How many gifts would you have if you were given all the gifts mentioned on the 12th day in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? 

1. 92 2. 80 3. 78 4. 76

4.) On what day did King Wenceslas take food and wood to a poor peasant? 
1. The Feast of Stephen 2. The Feast of Saint Agnes
3. The Feast of Saint Nicholas 4. Michaelmas

5.) Which boy band wrote and recorded the song "The Birth of Christ" for the fund-raising album "A Very Special Christmas 2"? 
1. Backstreet Boys 2. Boyz II Men
3. 'N Sync 4. 98 Degrees

6.) Which composer said "I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God himself" while writing his oratorio "Messiah"? 
1. Beethoven 2. Bach 3. Mozart 4. Handel

7.) What carol has the same tune as "Greensleeves"? 
1. "What Child Is This?"
2. "Ding Dong! Merrily on High"
3. "The Holly and the Ivy"
4. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

8.) What carol was composed before Midnight Mass for voices and guitar because the church organ was broken? 
1. "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
2. "Silent Night"
3. "Who Is He in Yonder Stall"
4. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

9.) Felix Mendelssohn composed "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" as part of a cantata commemorating: 
1. Charlemagne
2. Pope Leo X
3. Bible printer Johannes Gutenberg
4. A beautiful Italian soprano

10.) What popular song was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas? 
1. "I Wonder as I Wander"
2. "Deck the Halls"
3. "Go, Tell It on the Mountain"
4. "Jingle Bells"

11.) Which carol was a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith? 
1. "The First Noel"
2. "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
3. "I Saw Three Ships"
4. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night"