Carols of the year3 Days to Christmas

Whenever I think of Christmas, it is always one carol or the other that stands out each year. It's almost as if THAT carol takes pride of place and becomes the 'carol of the year'. In fact, I could describe each Christmas according to the carol that was ringing in my ears that particular year, and the memories, too, acquire a musical resonance because of these carols.

Now I'm not a very musical person - or so I've been told by knowledgeable sources - but I do like to sing aloud whenever I can. There is a certain release one gets and, I think, it has to do with the throat muscles, oesophagus and some other internal organs deciding to work in tandem that does the trick. In some cases, it works like magic as in the case of Andrea Bocelli or, in other cases like yours truly, it has the dubious effect of a jackhammer doing the drills or worse.

For such a person to have memories filled with music should rightfully raise eyebrows, but Christmas, I suppose, follows the words of psalmist when he cried, 'make a joyful noise unto the Lord'. In my case, there is a whole lot of joy and a whole lot of noise.

But going back to carols, I find it hard that these songs are rarely sung outside the Christmas season even though the words are equally relevant throughout the year. Inspiring words like "joy to the world", "silent night", "o come all ye faithful', "hark the herald" can be mulled over any time of the year, but we don't do that and instead slot them only in December.

Of course, if we sing them year-round there won't be any memories with the carols. For instance, I won't be able to connect "Away in a manger" with my fourth grade Christmas, or "We three kings of Orient" with my seventh grade.

I mean, I could give more examples for each year but two days ago I listened to "O holy night", and I immediately remembered the Christmas of four years ago, which included two of my friends who are no more. Samir passed away in the tragic boat accident last year, and Lina died two years ago after a serious illness. Samir like me and others was not a great singer but he joined us for those carol rounds, and though Lina didn't join us for the rounds she did help us with the planning and in encouraging us to sing along.

When I sang "O holy night" all those memories came back about these two precious saints who left an indelible mark in the life of their many friends and associates. They will be missed like many other close friends and family members who will not share the Christmas season with us this year. They will be missed for what they were and what they meant, but most importantly, for the blessing they were to us.

This Christmas season will be a memory soon and with that there will be other carols to remember it by, and there will be people we may no longer meet... perhaps, even I may not see another Christmas next year... but it is necessary to remember what kind of memories are left behind and what will people remember us by. We can't answer that because we have a duty to perform and that is, to live our lives as best as we can and be thankful. Finally, that's what matters, to remain thankful because that will shine through and make all the difference to our world.