A Little Christmas Music...

Everyone knows them - the Christmas standards. All those little songs that we remember only at this time of the year. Everything from Jungle Bells and Frost the Snowman to O Holy Night and Auld Lange Syne can be heard at just about every venue, and even in the car on your commute into work. And it crosses all genres of music - everyone puts out a Christmas CD - except maybe rap and hip-hop....but I'll confess my own ignorance on that part - maybe they record CDs, maybe they don't. I just don't know. But the point is, music makes the holiday for a LOT of us.

So it has been in my life, and the lives of many others, thanks to a community just east of the city of Syracuse, NY, and the efforts of a few individuals over the last 39 years. The select choir of Chittenango High School (shameless plug) has been singing its way through the Christmas season, carrying the spirit of the season (be it secular or religious) with it, and hopefully making the holidays better for a great many individuals.

Thirty-Nine years ago, they began it simply: A concert, held in candlelight, of the choir singing a cappella along with narration from the Gospel (I want to say it's from Luke). As the verses are read - in my days there it was by a respected member of the community and school - the choir would sing carrols from time to time: Joy to the World, God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen - as fit the Gospel telling. It was supported by the community and by the school. An individual's particular brand of faith didn't matter - it was a community event. No one was forced to attend, and yet, it seemed like the auditorium was packed every single year. It was a beautiful marriage of school, community, and faith coming together to celebrate the season. Whether you went simply to enjoy the sound of the choir, the message of the Gospel, or even just because it was a tradition, it was a good thing for the community. It was an opportunity to practice being a community.

Sadly, events like this are becoming more and more rare by the day. Under the guise of the seperation of Church and State, more communities are staying away from events like the Candlelight Concert - because they do not wish to offend anyone, and they are afraid of any repercussions. What a shame - that during the most festive season of the year, communities are now practicing "fear" rather than "tolerance." Whether you believe in the ancient pagan religions that celebrated the winter solcetice, or the Jewish tradition of Hannukah (sorry for any spelling errors), or the Christian tradition of Christmas, or the traditions of Kwanzaa, or even the secular traditions of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer - this is a season of celebration, of culture, of religion, and should be a time when we put aside our differences, and celebrate as communities of people who live and work together.

I would ask anyone reading this to look for events in your community that maybe aren't your normal holiday traditions, and attend them. These are people in your community - your friends and neighbors. Get to know them and their traditions.

Thanks for reading.

The Fat Kid