How not to sing Christmas carols

Over the weekend, I witnessed young children play traditional Christmas carols on various instruments such as the piano and violin. It was not a caroling feat or a competition but a Christmas recital of the music school where I taught. If you were a child and once enrolled in these kinds of institutions then you pretty much understand how recitals work - you bow, play your piece, smile for the cameras and your parents will be forever proud of you.

While I was watching from the sidelines to direct the event, I noticed that these children do not really understand the message of the songs played. No emotions were coming out of the melodies. To me, they were just plain notes played for the sake of the show. Nobody took time to feel the story of Christmas and the good news of this December event. Others were smiling from ear to ear for the whole duration of their performance but I bet the smiles were just for mommy and daddy to see.

Music is not just played, but felt. Charles Wesley, the composer of the classic "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", wrote the song as a hymn and worship to the Lord for giving us his son in the form of a human. At that time of the Christmas story, nobody would have believed that an angel would come down to talk to them about such news. Yet, for some reason it happened. Wesley thought that the event was worth a song.

It has been decades since the Christmas carols were made and they were not made in a fortnight. Composers and arrangers painstakingly find the right word and note to put on the music sheet so it would be remembered for generations as it is today. Songs have a story and the carols that we all know and love originated from the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, it is quite unfortunate that they are only treated as mere songs. Some even use them as a means to gather money.

In our day-to-day buzzing around the metropolitan, you would experience being serenaded to by jeepney carolers who bring an empty bottle of mineral water with pebbles in it as shaker. Before they start their grand performance they convince you that they bring no harm. The human in you doubts and you clutch your purse tightly for fear of it being nabbed while the youngsters sing their lungs out.

Whenever I am faced in that situation, I feel no remorse for those who are singing. Apart from the fact that there is a law that prohibits giving out money on the streets, I personally feel that they are using the season to their advantage. The songs are sung but they are still pointless; they are just off-key notes sang for the sake of "caroling".

December is the time where we get extra bucks and possibly another sum of pay worth a month of work. We are given this concept that Christmas time is about giving rather than receiving that is why those who beg for a living take the chance to earn more even if it means singing out of tune.

Although I respect what they do, I strongly believe that begging on the streets is a choice. As a matter of fact, a man's life is made up of choices. Those children who chose to walk under the heat of the sun to jump from one jeepney to another could have chosen to submit themselves to government organizations such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development or be inside foster homes. But they would rather be outside begging for their food to eat. Even those with disabilities could still make the most of their lives if they wanted to. It is only a matter of choice.

Tonight we celebrate welcome Christmas and we hear the carols once more. They are not just songs but a piece of hard work made for us to remember the baby boy born in the manger to save us.