December 20#: Go Caroling Day

3 min read

Strolling through your neighborhood, singing cheerful tunes, and spreading holiday joy with friends and family — really a nice tradition!
Once upon a time, Christmas celebrations wouldn’t have been anything without caroling, and this is exactly what is celebrated on Go Caroling Day on this day, December 20!
Any fan of old classic movies knows that carolers were one of the hallmarks of any Christmas themed movie, including “It’s a Wonderful Life” or Charles Dickens “Christmas Carol”, in which you could be certain at some point some warmly bedecked singers would arrive at someone’s door belting out the heartwarming traditional songs for Christmas.
Although this practice is slowly falling out of style, there’s still time to preserve this time-honored tradition, and Go Caroling Day is your occasion!

It is widely believed that caroling on Christmas started in 1223 at the church of St. Francis of Assisi.
He thought that it was merrier to sing songs full of joy and fun during the holidays, instead of solemn hymns, and he also started the live nativity scene.
But caroling has been around even longer than Christmas itself, as it was a part of many religious observances and practices centuries ago.
This is no surprise, given that the act of singing has long been a form of religious observance, and religious hymns are certainly not a new way of honouring one’s faith.
Carolling itself, however, is specifically used to reference those songs and traditions of Christmas, and for many years was a heavily practised tradition that many people eagerly took part in, whether by joining the carolers or by avidly awaiting their arrival at their doorstep.
Wassailing was another tradition that was quite similar in many ways, but was actually used to travel to the orchards and other places where cider was produced. It was believed that singing to the trees would promote a good harvest for the year, and was almost exclusively practised in England.
It was a reference to the alcoholic drink called ‘wassail’, and the songs that were sung were vulgar and rude in nature, and therefore viewed by the church as irreligious.
In any case, whether it was gathering around the piano in the living room, or the arrival of carolers on doorsteps in the neighborhood, caroling was a heavily practiced tradition in which people enthusiastically participated.

The best way to celebrate Go Caroling Day is to organize a group of friends and relations and get out there and…sing for this holiday!
All of the Christmas carols you might want to sing have to be familiar after all these years, you’ve sung them growing up, as part of your school choir, and they’re on the radio in multitudinous versions.
The point of Go Caroling Day is simply to get out and share the spirit of the season, however, you celebrate it, with everyone.
Now get singing!