Christmas euphoria starts to set in

TIRUCHI This time around, Christmas is deemed complete with singing of carols in the post-covid phas

This time around, Christmas is deemed complete with singing of carols in the post-covid phase what with the tradition becoming visible in several localities of Tiruchi city after two years of muted festivities due to the lockdown.

Unlike the last two years, this year’s festivities are up and running in full swing. Holding guitars and drums, carollers walk into people’s homes and render popular carols, bringing messages of hope, laughter and joy.

“Going door-to-door to perform carol singing activities during the Christmas month has remained a long-standing tradition, until the pandemic disrupted the celebrations,” Fr. Joe Joe Lawrence, Parish Priest of St Theresa’s Church at Crawford told The Hindu.

Several carol groups in the city have started going on door-to-door carolling, to keep the traditional spirit of carol singing alive. Door-to-door carol singing begins in the second week of December and lasts until Christmas eve. Carollers practise for weeks before they go out and spread cheer in their neighbourhoods.

The 25-member group of carol singers of the St. Theresa’s Church has already visited over 300 houses in their parish. The group comprises students, professionals, housewives and clergy who have been dedicating hours to go carol singing.

“We start every day at 7 pm and conclude by 10 pm. Some of the popular songs we sing are ‘Vandhachu Christmas Vandhachu’, ‘Mannum Vinnum Inainthathu’, ‘Jingle Bells’, ‘Oh, Come’, and ‘Joy to the World’. The group also has young children who enthusiastically sing along. They have been brought up on this tradition of carol singing,” said Rajarathinam, a member of the group.

It’s not just carol groups from churches that are active; there was a time when even neighbourhood groups carried out carolling. They seem to have vanished lately, observes Michael Pinheiro, a member of a carol group in Golden Rock.