The traffic lights turned red. Right on cue, a girl of maybe 11 years of age approached our vehicle and begun mumbling something I could not understand. I was told that the girl was singing a Christmas song. In other words,”nangangaroling.”
At another corner, a boy approached, this time, he was not singing but holding a small carton with the words, “namamasko po.”
If it were up to me, I would not give them anything not because I wanted to be unkind but because I felt in a way, cheated. Well, the girl was given some money but not the boy. At least the girl exerted some ‘effort’ and finished her “song.” The boy was begging, pure and simple, and I am not one to encourage begging. True, Christmas is a time for giving but somehow, I want things to be done in the “proper” way.
You do not just belt out a Christmas carol not memorizing the lyrics, without rehearsals, by your lonesome, and sans accompaniment no matter if its just a toy maracas, flattened soft drinks crown held together by a ring of wire, or a guitar.
Caroling, for my generation, was a serious holiday tradition done by groups, whether friends, neighbors, colleagues, or members of organizations, to spread the spirit of Christmas, bring cheers to
people, have fun, and also to have additional pocket money. It was never primarily about money except for groups that help disadvantaged people.
Most definitely, doing caroling is not begging. While it was fun to earn from caroling, the thinking was, if the group is good, then homeowners would perhaps gift the group more. We had to do well so we could all be proud of ourselves.
As a girl, even as a teenager, I have happy memories of caroling. By mid-November, plans were already underway in terms of Christmas activities. Kids would already start collecting soda crowns to flatten to be converted into their instruments. Teenagers would already talk about who would want to do caroling (joining the group was not limited to those who could actually sing), schedule of practice, songs to be performed, areas to be covered. Always, a most important decision point was who would be the guitarist. If no one played the guitar in the group, there would be a search for one, or the group would decide on other instruments. There must be accompaniment.
I could not, and still cannot sing. My voice tended (and still tends) to go from one extreme to the other but this was never a problem for the teenager version of myself in joining caroling groups.
Rehearsals were a lot of fun but serious at the same time. We were happy to be with friends. We sought ways to better what we were doing. Depending on the singing skills of group members, there were even attempts at blending of voices. Some would go first voice, others would do second voice. Nobody went to practice without knowing the lyrics of the songs or prepare to be ribbed. Yes, it was just for caroling but like others, we took pride in things we did. “Pwede na” was not a line we used.
If you want to know how a non-singer like me did it, well, I sang ever so softly so as not to ruin the numbers. I already did lip sync during my youth. Moreover, I made myself useful in other ways. The singing is one important part but someone had to make sure that people were at the appointed place at the appointed time. Someone had to hold the gifts we received. That someone was me.
I stopped doing this when I entered college but continued to like looking at and listening to younger ones do caroling. The tradition lived on.
When I had children, I saw them living the tradition every Christmas with their own sets of friends. My girl and my boys all did the ritual of flattening-of-the-”tansan” when December came. I heard them and their friends go from house to house singing Jingle Bells, Silent Night, Little Drummer Boy, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, even Michael Jackson’s Give Love on Christmas Day. I did not worry that something bad would befall them. Tokhang was unheard of then and while there were crimes, people still trusted the Philippine National Police.
I do not exactly know when the tradition of caroling died but I see the major differences between past and present.
Sometimes I still get letters from groups helping orphans asking if they could do caroling at our place but I no longer see and hear children and young people sing Christmas Carols like before.
I do not know if children and teenagers still know the tradition of caroling. The girl and the boy at the beginning of this piece were after the money that perhaps they were under impression people should give them because it is Christmas season. So the girl struck it out on her own to do caroling. And the boy? He wanted to fast track things more so he just carried a “namamasko po” cardboard around.
Many families are impoverished, I know. I do not blame the children. They are victims here. Maybe the parents, too, are victims of social injustice. However, we have responsibilities as parents. Letting children out on the streets to beg takes away their childhood. Begging takes away people’s dignity. No parent should allow this. At the macro level, no government should allow this.
Perhaps if my children are still kids now, I also would not allow them to stay out too late to do caroling. It is a dangerous time when even kids get killed in a bloody war against drugs. It may not be the time to do caroling especially at nights.
Yes, I think the tradition of caroling is lost. But let us not let goodwill die, too. While we do not like to tolerate begging, let us help those who need help. Give not because people beg but give because we want to help. Let this tradition live on.
bethangsioco@gmail.com @bethangsioco on Twitter