The caroler who somewhow always ends up right behind me
How come no one goes Christmas caroling anymore? When I was a kid, you could always count on a group of strolling singers coming by your house and joyfully belting out a familiar Christmas tune that always made you feel so good inside right before you turned up the volume on your TV.
Ah, carolers. They used to be such a big part of Christmas. My family used to get so many carolers outside our house that by December 22 or so we we were capable of eating our entire dinner in the dark after we snapped off the lights. And the whole time we were waiting for them to give up serenading an empty house we would remain completely silent, even if one of us happened to got stuck with a fork or jabbed in the eye with a straw.
I used to hope the carolers in our neighborhood would break out into territorial turf wars, but they never did. I remember once looking down our street in one direction, and seeing a gang of carolers coming our way, and then looking in the other direction, and seeing the same thing, and thinking, “Oh, it’s on. This is it. They’re have to meet! It’s gonna get ugly!” I imagined hot chocolate spraying everywhere, scarves and mittens sailing through the air. Cops showing up. Me getting interviewed on TV.
“Yeah,” I’d say. “I saw the whole thing. I was just standing right here on my lawn with my bucket of baseball bats, when all [bleep] broke loose. Can I say [bleep?] on TV?”
But, alas, nothing: One of the groups meekly meandered to the other side of the street just in time to avoid getting their hollies decked. And that was my cue to duck back inside my house, warn my family, and turn off the lights.
But where are the carolers nowadays? What happened to that tradition? These days I couldn’t get a caroler outside my house if I put a tin of cookies on the sidewalk, shined a spotlight on it, threw open our windows, and blared karaoke versions of carols from my stereo. Forget it. Someone would just call the police. And I’d be stuck trying to explain how people used to carol. But the cops would all be too young to remember. And, because of the special way I have of interacting with the police, I’d end up getting tazed. So it just wouldn’t be worth it.
But whatever did happen to caroling? Why doesn’t anyone do it anymore? I myself used to love the idea of going Christmas caroling. The reality of going Christmas caroling never quite jingled my bells, but that’s only because I’m not exactly what you’d call a natural-born caroler. I would be, except it involves singing in public. Me singing in public is like Santa singing in my shower. It’s just wrong. Plus, I can never, ever remember the words to any carols. So I’m always stuck singing, like, “Good King Winksalot looked out / at the feet of Stephen / then the snow was all about / deeply, crispy Steven.” And then I start noticing my fellow carolers giving me the evil eye. Like they know all the lyrics. That’s when I usually start silently mouthing the lyrics, the better to hear them failing. But glaring at your fellow carolers while pretending to sing is fun for only four or five songs, max. Then it’s back to guessing how much gusto you’re supposed to use rolling your “r’s” in “Little Drummer Boy.”
Plus, I always ended up standing right in front of that person who’s in every caroling group, the one who mistook “Let’s go out caroling!” with “Let’s go audition for the Metropolitan Opera!” You know those people? Who sing like what they’re really doing is drumming up customers for the little hearing aid business they run on the side?
Or I’d end up standing right in front of a carol yeller. Or, out of desperate boredom, I’d become a yeller. But the point is, I sure do miss that great tradition of gathering together with a bunch of people you don’t really know all that well, and then going outside with them into the freezing dark to wander around the streets singing songs in the hopes that eventually someone will feed you.
I don’t know, man. It just doesn’t seem like people have the same spirit of Christmas they used to.
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Posted by samwrites2 on December 19, 2007 at 7:30 am
Oh boy, this time I get to be the first to comment! Yeah, caroling. You evoke great memories, John. I’m that old too. I belonged to the concert choir in high school (1976-1979) and we used to tramp around caroling one night each December.
Last time I took part in anything like that was sometime during the 1990s when I joined a church group caroling – to other church members’ houses.
As I’ve gotten older it just seems like I’ve joined the rest of a fearful and mobile society that won’t take a walk a few houses down and introduce themselves when they move in. We can go door-to-door with our kids on Halloween begging for candy but venturing friendly banter seems to be harder these days, especially if Christ is mentioned.
Singing seems to make a singer TOO vulnerable to neighbors and we’re so tied up in what they’ll think we chicken out.
Posted by Terri Wright on December 19, 2007 at 7:46 am
Its funny you have a whole blog devoted to this topic. its also so amazing that i am going to have to send it to my bible study group only because during our christmas party last week we went caroling… and boy was it bad! there are really no singers in our group but we sure did have fun…. i even went as far as making copies of carols that way everyone would at least know the words even if they didnt know the way the song went… all in all it was still really awesome because it was a great memory and we plan to do it next year although i think we are going to practice a bit more and throw in a few singers… I’M SO EXCITED!!!
Posted by washedandforgiven on December 19, 2007 at 8:09 am
Well, my church still goes caroling… unfortunately, they always decide to do it on nights that I’m working. *grumbles*
Posted by Caz Taylor on December 19, 2007 at 8:09 am
I’m believing that caroling is going to be making a comeback. Maybe next year. For those who seek opportunities to illustrate the compassion and joy in Christ, few other endeavors have such potential for being received door to door by your neighbors. Only two seasons allow for such activity, maybe three. There’s halloween, where homeowners must give out or suffer the consequences. There’s hearing Christmas carolers snuggled around your door. Oh, and there’s the fire department pounding in the middle of the night saying that fire is threatening your life. Of the three, caroling has the most value to all. Caroling is a nonthreatening way to show Christ’s love. Indeed, you should probably seek excellence in your delivery. But, I’m for caroling.
Posted by Hjordes on December 19, 2007 at 8:42 am
We have two caroling dates this year, and a group of church children sang at my mother’s nursing home, God bless ‘em. But yeah, times have changed. I miss it.
Personally, I just pretend to sing because I actually like my neighbors and don’t want to do them harm.
Posted by John Shore on December 19, 2007 at 9:00 am
Caz: I don’t know, man. Seems to me like people waking you up in the middle of the night screaming at you about how you’re about to burn to death could long way toward converting people. I’d have to give the conversion nod to the fire fighters.
Hjordes: This is so awful I can only hope no one actually reads it, but speaking of caroling in old folks’ homes: One time, when I was a teenager, I thought it would be deeply humorous to go Christmas caroling, in June, in an old folks’ home, because it would so CONFUSE the old people. Terrible! I was a terrible teenager. But it just seemed so FUNNY that I couldn’t resist. So we actually did it! Me and about five other people caroled down the hallway of an old folks home, going from room to room, dressed in winter clothes, heartily regaling the old folks, stepping around the wheelchairs. It was actually pretty fun, until we noticed that we really WERE confusing the old people, which, of course, was something less than fun. So we quit right away. But for about ten minutes there, I thought, “Wow. We’re doing this. I’ll never forget I did this.” And, sadly, I haven’t.
Posted by LeeAnn on December 19, 2007 at 9:08 am
I think I will combine this caroling thing with the party crashing idea.
Imagine if you will~~~~~~~~
You and a gang of friends approch a party. 2 go stand on the door step the rest of the group starts singing. THEN…the 2 on the door step and stick their heads in and yell, “Hey everybody…Carolers! Come listen!”
A few more songs and the 2 porch people invite the “carolers” in to join the party.
This way even the shy can crash.
LOL!! Thanks for the blog John. You are great!!!
Posted by John Shore on December 19, 2007 at 9:11 am
This is the greatest idea idea in the history of strangers scarfing all your potato chips. Absolutely inspirational. On behalf of people everywhere who can’t sing and never get invited anywhere, I thank you, LeeAnn.
Posted by Leif Sr. on December 19, 2007 at 10:37 am
John, I love your sense of humor. Your twist on life is awesome. In regards to the subject matter, I dated a girl named Caroline once. Does that count? She could carry a tune so there wasn’t much harmony between us.
Posted by Arnette on December 19, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Isn’t that sweet? I remember watching people go a-caroling on TV all my life. I grew up in public housing where going a-caroling would probably have been misconstrued as going a-robbing and pillaging. But it IS a lovely sentiment and I hope it does make a comeback so that I’ll get to do it in my new better neighborhood.
Posted by cool dad on December 19, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Unfortunately, the advent of the CD and then the MP3 player allowed people to listen to their favorite Christmas carols whenever they want. Thus, no more sitting at home jonesing to hear ‘Joy to the World’ and then jumping with glee when you get that knock on the door.
That or potential carolers are lazy and potential listeners are paranoid about any knock on the door after sunset.
Posted by Stef on December 19, 2007 at 1:25 pm
my friends and I used to do that in high school, go caroling around our immediate neighborhood. Sometimes, we’d pick up a person or two or three who wanted to join us. A lot of the neighbors had treats for us: hot chocolate and cookies, or something.
I mentioned caroling to my sons one Christmas and all four of them looked at me like “that’s it, Mom’s really lost her mind this time!” One said, “No one does that any more, Mom.”
Yes, I’m in that age group too… I was in high school 1978-1982. Ahh, the good ole days…
Posted by John Shore on December 19, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Arnette: Yeah, “Here we go a’ pillaging / Oh, here we go a’ pillaging” lacks a certain cheer. Unless you’re a pirate. Then it’d be about the greatest carol ever.
Leif: Wow, that was awfully kind of you. Thanks! (And yes, I think “Here we go a’ Caroline” does count. But BARELY.)
Cool Dad: So your idea is that before CD’s, people were so desperate to hear Xmas carols sung live that they LOVED it when carolers came around — but that after CD’s, they didn’t care anymore. Hmmm. Interesting.
Posted by totaltransformation on December 19, 2007 at 1:56 pm
“But whatever happened to caroling? Why doesn’t anyone do it anymore?”
Another symptom of the sad decline of authentic community.
Posted by John Shore on December 19, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Oh. Shoot. I hate it when that happens.
Posted by Billy B on December 19, 2007 at 3:03 pm
It is politically incorrect to sing about Jesus. I”d be afraid I get arrested.
Posted by John Shore on December 19, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I do not fear that I would get arrested for singing in public about Jesus. I fear that I would get arrested for singing in public about anything, anywhere, any time, ever.
Posted by joyousthirst on December 19, 2007 at 9:35 pm
e-caroling just wouldn’t cut it, would it
=) totally kidding!
Posted by Rhiannon Wells on December 20, 2007 at 10:31 am
Ironically, we used to go caroling with our Girl Scout troop (yea, the girl scouts who are now a very liberal organization). We would go around the neighborhood and also visit a nursing home to sing to the elderly.
I think the reason people don’t go caroling anymore is because we’ve become too selfish and too politically correct. People are becoming so caught up in their own selfish worlds that they don’t appreciate others doing something nice for them. They see Christmas carolers as annoying and wonder how they dare invade their space and enter their yards.
Then you’ve got the “politically correct” idea that has stolen the backbones of not just Christians, but anyone who celebrates Christmas. God forbid we offend anyone that doesn’t believe in Christ or even celebrating Christmas at all. Back in the day, if someone didn’t celebrate Christmas they could just politely refuse the carolers singing to them. In this day and age, people get so easliy offended that there’s nothing polite anymore. So Christians have gotten to fearful to even attempt caroling.
It’s a darn shame that traditions are going the wayside of “political correctness,” but it’s unfortunately the times we live in.
Posted by John Shore on December 20, 2007 at 10:32 am
The Girl Scouts are a liberal organization?
Posted by cool dad on December 20, 2007 at 11:16 am
John, my comment started out as a joke, but when you paraphrase it like that, it sounds reasonable. Sweet, I make sense!
Posted by tam on December 20, 2007 at 11:18 am
My neighbors have guns. ’nuff said.
Posted by trancefixed on December 22, 2007 at 12:11 pm
We had 2 girls come round carol singing the other day – I was so surprised! I haven’t even seen a group of carol singers for years, let alone heard any.
Lots of efforts, lots of giggling, not much of a tune but I didn’t mind just for the nostalgic novelty factor.
Posted by Brandy on April 12, 2008 at 6:58 pm
In Ramona, Ca the year before last, I went Christmas caroling with a bunch of people on horses! Apparently they do it every year! My children and myself and another lady and her daughter walked behind and we all sang together. The people were overjoyed! It was hard to keep up with the horse riders so we didn’t do it this year but I have been asking people about possibly doing a walk through a neighborhood or nursing home. So far I haven’t really found anyone who seriously would do it. I’m thinking of putting an ad in the paper for a parent/child Christmas caroling event!