Cookies for the Choir
Setting aside the religious aspects of the holiday for a moment, Christmas is a time of family togetherness, gift exchanges, and cheer. Kids try to get a peek at Santa, or at least think they hear him rustling around their trees after midnight. Some light Advent candles or Yule logs. Some sing songs around the fire or at church. That's what I did as a young schoolboy. I was in the choir.
Our choir rehearsed very diligently after classes ended throughout November and December. As the big day approached we anticipated singing at Midnight Mass. It was a command performance for the pastor in front of the entire parish. No pressure. Once after choir practice, a small group of us set out to go caroling. This is the tradition of knocking on doors as one does at Halloween, but rather than expect treats, we would deliver songs of the season. One or two verses of "Hark the Herald" or "Silent Night" and those at the home would usually thank us with a small donation of cash or cookies. We made Sister Theresa cry with joy when we presented to her our small collection at the following day's practice. We kept nothing for ourselves that night, except a few cookies. It was then, as a fifth grader, that I learned the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about the tree, the tinsel, or Santa. It's not even about "baby Jesus". Christmas is about touching others with unexpected kindness.
Of course time move ever onward. I am no longer a choirboy, and have drifted away from midnight mass. The season comes each year, but the hustle-bustle of daily life seems always to overshout the quiet tones of the choir at the doorstep. Then I hear the car radio or scratchy mall PA system playing "Away in a Manger" and my mind races back to those times when life was simpler. Simpler not because of any growing up the world has done, but because then I had no real responsibilities. As kids we are free to let our hearts open to Christmas, to build the memories we lock away as adults. After all, we have to meet the deadlines and pay the bills. We have precious little time to sing along with the choir, or even to stop to listen to their carols. The "good old days" are only in our minds. In a way, we are all Ebenezer Scrooge. We worry about our day-to-day crises and care a bit less for those around us. We tend to keep to ourselves and our own families instead of sharing our world with others. We get stuck in our routines and worry only about the problems within it. Scrooge wasn't really a bad man, he was just set in his own world. He didn't hate Christmas, he just had no time for it. Once he opened his eyes to what others saw in the world and in him, he awoke to the possibilities of the season. Once he remembered what Christmas is supposed to be he made it such again. We only need to follow that example; to see what we can do for others in order to celebrate the season and indeed every day.
One crisp late Autumn evening when the snow is lightly falling, you may answer the doorbell's ring to a small group of choirboys making their seasonal rounds. Think again before closing the door in haste. Those Christmas carols are not for the choir, but a command performance just for you. Take a moment to remember when you heard Santa at midnight, or lit a candle against the winter's gloom. Sing along or just smile knowing their effort was successful. So share a cookie with the choir and remember what Scrooge always knew.
Merry Christmas.
