Christmas caroling

Since we have moved to a small village, each year the people gather at a church built in 1850 to sing Christmas carols. I cherish every moment. At first there were only a handful of people, and my awful voice was embarrassing, but this afternoon every pew was full and it was a joyous day as the church rocked with the volume which could hide my voice. I felt like a kid again. The person who organizes this is a retired Navy Chaplin who is a wonderful person and it is a non denominational celebration of Christmas. I feel sometimes like I am the luckiest man in the world. Dying is not bad at all, but the living is certainly a celebration.....and today I celebrated Christmas and the songs of my youth.

2seaoat wrote:Since we have moved to a small village, each year the people gather at a church built in 1850 to sing Christmas carols.  I cherish every moment.  At first there were only a handful of people, and my awful voice was embarrassing, but this afternoon every pew was full and it was a joyous day as the church rocked with the volume which could hide my voice.  I felt like a kid again.  The person who organizes this is a retired Navy Chaplin who is a wonderful person and it is a non denominational celebration of Christmas.  I feel sometimes like I am the luckiest man in the world.  Dying is not bad at all, but the living is certainly a celebration.....and today I celebrated Christmas and the songs of my youth.

So glad you had a good time.

We sang none of these



We did sing this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlpbBRqdnc0

My favorite this afternoon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHQJReaAmfM

In grade school we had a choir consisting of 5th through 8th grade, considering my classroom had 65 kids, it was a very large chior. We performed all over the panhandle and in Alabama. We also sang at Sunday Mass. The choir always sang, in latin, Gloria in Excelsis Deo in gregorian chant. It really was beautiful.

Good for you Mr. Oats . . . . good for you. Few things make me smile these days but your view of enjoying the moment does just that . . . .

Gloria in Excelsis Deo in gregorian chant. It really was beautiful.


I was just blown away how much this brought back memories. I see this historic small church and think about the early settlers in 1850 getting together to sing Christmas songs, and how powerful fellowship can be as life was not so comfortable and each of the neighbors relied on those in the village to protect just twenty years prior from chief Blackhawk. Today we have all the comforts of kings, but the isolation of somebody living on an island. In our modern lives of hustle and bustle we sometimes forget how very important fellowship is in our lives. This forum is a type of fellowship where as much as your neighbor irritated or let his cow break your fence, people pooled together for years......together in a time and place.......those settlers are long gone, and the church has no current congregation where the historical society maintains the same.....but there is something very important in this afternoon's fellowship. It is the celebration of life......much better shared than alone.

Sounds really nice, Seaoat.

Favorite Christmas ever we were in Germany. I was great with child and our little American congregation was invited by the village where we met to go on a hayride and sing Christmas carols. The people in the village brought out hot chocolate and gluhwein. Most simple and beautiful celebration ever.

Most simple and beautiful celebration ever.



There is a great deal to be said for simple.