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CHRISTMAS: CAROL SINGERS ACROSS AUSTRALIA TO HIT THE STREETS WITH THE “REAL MESSAGE” OF THE CELEBRATION

Carolers

DAVID ADAMS reports on Australia’s Carols by Streetlight initiative…

Attracted by the chance to share something of the “real message” of Christmas in her community, Adelaide mother-of-four Rebecca Drury was among scores of people across the country who took part in the Carols by Streetlight initiative last year.

The 42-year-old, who has previously engaged in some public carol singing in the UK, heard about the initiative – which involves groups of carol singers walking the streets to share some Christmas joy – through her church, Rostrevor Baptist, north-east of the city’s CBD.

Carolers

HERALDING JOY: Top – Carollers hit the streets in last year’s Carols by Streetlight. PICTURE: Supplied.

“That’s something we felt that…was really lacking in society now – the real celebration – so we wanted to bring that into the community…The wonder of Jesus’ birth has been replaced by Father Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and that’s made me really sad and a lot of people feel the same way.”

– Astrid Priest, founder of Carols by Streetlight

“I think it was something we could do in the community that involved sharing the message of Christmas with people who maybe didn’t get the opportunity to hear much about the real message,” she says.

Ms Drury says that while it was a bit “uncomfortable” at first, “once we go into it, it was good”.

“Some [people] came out of houses and stood on their front lawns…but also people were just walking past and stopped and listened and there were a couple of cars that drove past with their windows down and listened as well….It is a bit of fun and it sort of helps you get a bit into the Christmas spirit, I think.”

This year once again, hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the country will take to the streets with song sheets in their hands in the week before Christmas to take part in Carols by Streetlight.

The initiative was sparked by Astrid Priest who, like Ms Drury, attends Rostrevor Baptist Church.

“A few years ago, I was sitting in my lounge and I heard…a couple of people walking down my street singing carols at the top of their voice. And I thought ‘That sounds beautiful’. I found it really moving and thought ‘How good would it be if churches sent out groups right across Australia?’. And I didn’t think any more of it until last year and I went ‘You know what, maybe we can do that’.”

She spoke to some others who also proved keen and so, with the help of volunteers who donated their time and skills (including creating the website), last year they launched a national trial, involving people from a range of different denominations including Baptists as well as people from Assemblies of God, Uniting, Anglican and Salvation Army churches.

Following positive feedback from those who took part (and while numbers are hard to estimate, there were groups in every state), Ms Priest says “we’ve really ramped it up this year”. 

“We’re hoping to get churches right across Australia…sending out their own groups of carol singers, just into their local nieghbourhood, singing traditional Christmas carols, during the week before Christmas,” Ms Priest says. “We’re just trying to bring the real Christmas spirit back into the community.”

Ms Priest says that the move comes against a background in which carols are no longer played as they once were in schools and public places.

“That’s something we felt that…was really lacking in society now – the real celebration – so we wanted to bring that into the community…The wonder of Jesus’ birth has been replaced by Father Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and that’s made me really sad and a lot of people feel the same way.”

Singers last year reported some “really positive interactions with people coming out to see us and saying ‘hi’ and asking where we’re from,” says Ms Priest.

Carols by Streetlight

The Carols by Streetlight logo.

“Everyone we’ve spoken to has thought it was a fantastic idea and been keen to get on board…The first time people go out, [they] don’t know what to expect, but everyone has come back loving it and wanting to go out again.”

The organisers are encouraging people of all ages to get involved – from kids through the grandparents – and having a great singing voice isn’t necessarily a pre-requisite.

“We have run groups of different sizes and have found that if there’s a group of probably eight to 10 people, any singing level is very comfortable and if you’re a bad singer, you are supported by enough people not to feel out of place,” says Ms Priest.

People are encouraged to sing in their local residential neighbourhoods but if a group does want to sing in a shopping centre, permission from the management will be required first and there’s a sample approval form on the website.

The website also contains flyers, song sheets, sign-up sheets, tips on caroling (avoid rainy days!), and other promotional material for use in churches.

Ms Priest has always loved Christmas carols, recalling that they were a very special part of her own childhood. “All the carols – you look at the lyrics and they tell the story [of Christmas] but from lots of different aspects – from the angels and the shepherds and the wise men and Mary and Joseph…I suppose [we] connect with it more, hearing it in song. It just stirs something up inside of you.”

And her favorite carol? Joy to the World. Which is exactly what the carollers want to bring.

To register your church group to take part in Carols by Streetlight, head to http://carolsbystreetlight.org.

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