They rapped at my car window and sang away:

"Sa paskong darating, Santa Claus ko'y AKO din...
...may kendi at tsokolate, perlas -LAStanyas na madami..."

Yep, it's caroling season.

Sadly though, since December 1, we've heard nothing more than the cursory "Sa maybahay ang aming bati," where the carolers fumble through the lyrics of the first stanza, then end it with a chorus of "Nangangaroling po!"

Sigh. Commercial Christmas all around.


I remember many, many Christmasses ago, my brother and I used to make the rounds of the village, caroling. We each carried a fork and a spoon to bang together in lieu of the flattened softdrink caps (tansans), and got quips like "Sa'n kayo kakain?" from fellow carolers.

But what we lacked in instruments, we more than made up for in gusto and presentation.
We danced while we sang. We had a varied repertoire, sang O Holy Night, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, among many others. We studied the songs to be sure we got the lyrics right and practiced 30 minutes before going out para hindi nakakahiya. OC na, noon pa. :)

We never earned a lot from our efforts; mom never allowed us to go beyond 3 blocks away. But much of the caroling was for enjoyment and education. The caroling at the corner bakery usually earned us a pack of freshly baked Pan de Limon, while caroling at Aling Edith's store meant we had to sing 10 songs before getting 50 centavos. (Imagine!) We later learned to avoid Aling Edith's store, and come back to the corner bakery when possible. Hehehe.

I wish I could let my kids go caroling for the experience, but times have changed...Sigh.