WHY DO CHRISTMAS CAROLS MAKE US HAPPY?..Music is one element that would stay with us from the moment of birth, to our adult and senior years
Infants are soothed to slumber with the singing of the mother ( and the father too ).The voice of the mother however will always be familiar to the child because maybe it has been hearing it from the time he/she was still swimming inside the mother's womb...
After the child is born and the child grows up, it is already exposed to the various sounds, music or otherwise of the environment around, especially Christmas Carols.These are the timeless pieces created by musicians (God bless them all )... People usually associate a certain song or music to the moment or ocassion when the music is being played...Christmas days, to children as well as adults are the happiest ones of all.
As early as September, ( this is in the Philippines ) a few Christmas songs are already being played over the radio. I remember hearing WHISPERING HOPE on September and I would always run to our small radio just to turn the volume as high as it can go without distorting the sound. As the Yuletide season approached, more and more of the same are being played. And when December 1 kicks in, most stores in the malls are already playing nothing but..I seldom, if ever, spent Christmas Day in Manila.
When I was a College student, right after the last day in school, we all joined in a great exodus unlike seen even by by Moses himself. The buses are packed to the roof with people going home. One has to be in the bus station several hours before the departure of the bus of your choice...
Listening to Christmas Carols enkindle in our memory these vignettes, these scenes: from the hectic struggles in the bus station to the happy arrival in our homes and meeting our parents and siblings once again. Then the midnight or morning church worship followed by the great feast. ....
The classic Christmas carols never changed and will always be with us : Bing Crosby's WHITE CHRISTMAS, Mahalia Jackson's SILENT NIGHT, Jo Stafford's duet with GORDON MacRae rendering WHISPERING HOPE . This song is the only non Crhristmas Carol sang during the Christmas season in the Philippines.Why?.I do not really know exactly. Maybe because of the word ANGEL in the first line. Strictly speaking this song is just a religious hymn. But who cares ? It is always ANYTHING GOES in the Philippines, Asingan included. ..Misa de Gallo ( Mass of the rooster ) will commence next week in Asingan.... To the kids, we always brainwash them about Santa...Yeeesh, he has a mile long list.I wish I could see the names ( and phone numbers ) he wrote down under the " NAUGHTY BUT NICE" section! Just kidding folks!..HO-HO-HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
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