When bells herald a new dawn…

“…Jingle bells, jingle bells jingle all the way…” As Christmas papa arrives at our door steps with lots of gifts in his hands, giving everone a wake up call on a chilly December dawn, it is a huge pleasure to wake from our sleep hearing the beats of drums and to sing along with the Christmas group in front of our door. This is a keenly awaited part of Christmas, not only by kids but also the elders. A Christmas carol headed by Santa Claus heralds the message of the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem, from house to house during the month of December.

Christmas carols are sung throughout the silent nights of December and reach a crescendo by Christmas Eve. Their history can be traced back to the blessed night when shepherds from the rolling field heard the angels proclaiming the astounding news, “To you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, who is the messiah, the Lord!”

The news of the holy birth along with the angelic anthem, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on Earth, peace among those whom God favours” is reiterated through out the world nowadays through Christmas carols.

Carols are basically the joyful religious songs celebrating the birth of Christ. Apart from the most popular English carols namely ‘Jingle Bells’, and ‘Silent Night’, there are many other famous carols in most vernacular languages. Usually the particular church choir decides which of the numerous compositions should be sung.

The preparations for carols start even before the month of December with rehearsals of new songs, dressing of Santa Claus and wrapping gifts for children, which will reach them, when Santa visits their houses. The carols are organised by churches and the areas to be covered each day is listed out by the carol team. The carol team then visit all the houses without discriminating on the basis of religion or caste. They congregate at the church, and then move from one house to another while singing, dancing and enjoying. Starting out early in the night, they go on till the sun rises to rescue everyone from the icy mornings.

“We started our carol preparations from November itself. Apart from the traditional carol songs, new Tamil songs are also used recently. Many carol teams are also there and these teams visit houses and try to spread the festive mood. These singing and dancing will continue up to the Christmas Eve,” says Fr Aloysaus Xavier, of St Michels church, Coimbatore.

“Every year we try to bring some changes in tunes and lines. One thing we ensure is that at least five songs are those which are newly composed. We keep a competitive spirit also in this regard as there are many teams. For us Christmas means Carols”, says Blessy, a carol team member.

“Carols fill the air with Christmas mood. Our first preparation for Christmas is getting ready for carols. We prepare for some exclusive songs every year,” says Ida, also a team member.

At first carols were performed by small groups in villages and was not a part of churches. It was St Francis of Assissi who introduced carols as a traditional Christmas service. It started becoming popular by the mid 14th century.

Christmas carols are welcomed by each house with cheers and smiles. A Christmas tree decorated in front of the houses is the favourite place for the Santa Claus to hide his gifts for children. The Christmas tree is decorated with stars, miniature Santas, models of gifts and musical instruments and bells. During olden days, the deodar trees with many wide spread branches were felled down to make a Christmas tree. Balloons, bells, gifts, white cotton to give the appearance of snow etc are also hung on the tree. It is mainly the duty of elders to arrange the tree while the rest of the decorations is done by children.

But now a days, even the Christmas tree is available in ready-made form. The only thing to do is choose a fine-looking tree from the shopping mall. Sometimes, just an undecorated tree is purchased while other decorations and accessories are bought separately, thus giving an opportunity for kids to decorate the tree at their home. If you don’t find the time for decoration too, don’t worry, you should go in for the decorated type.

Regardless of the reason to celebrate the season, people enjoy the spirit behind the celebration of Christmas with cakes and candles, carols and Santa Claus, Christmas trees and cribs, Christmas foods and feasts.

Christmas continues to be the most universally celebrated holiday around the globe, transcending languages, cultures, and even religious beliefs. With only a day to go for celebrating the birthday of that humble carpenter’s son, people are ready with their Christmas vigils and preparations for the night mass. Let the candles that light up the altar on today’s night bring peace to the world. Wishing all a Merry Christmas…