Kerala - Kochi   

Time for Christmas carols

Christmas tunes: The song troupe of the YMCA and the YWCA at the Ecumenical Carol Service in Kochi on Friday.

KOCHI: It is the time of the year when children go gaga about Santa Claus and the merriment that Christmas brings.

For elders, December brings back childhood memories – of carol groups going from house to house, lanterns in hand, even in the dead of night.

Reviving the tradition of carols, the Ernakulam YMCA and the YWCA organised an ecumenical Christmas carol service at the Durbar Hall Ground on Friday evening.

Apart from the choir group of the YMCA and the YWCA, choirs of six prominent churches in Kochi were present.

There was a good turnout at the annual event, which rings in the festive mood in Kochi.

The event began with everyone present singing ‘O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…,’ one among the evergreen carols of yore. Its lyrics and music are by Handel Issac Watts.

The YWCA and YMCA ecumenical choir sang ‘There’s a star in the east and we must follow… to find the love of the tiny child…’ and a Malayalam song to highlight the spirit of the Christmas season.

This was followed by carols sung by church choirs, whose members were dressed up in tastefully-designed uniforms.

Choirs of Jerusalem Mar Thoma Church, St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Salem Mar Thoma Church, St. Gregorios Orthodox Syrian Church, CSI Immanuel Church and St. George Orthodox Church sang melodious English and Malayalam songs.

‘Gloria in excelsis Deo…,’ ‘Bhoomi manjaninja neelaravil…,’ ‘Daivathin puthranu vannupirakkan kottarangalilidamilla…,’ ‘Everybody join us in the celebration, Joy joy the child is born…’ and ‘Rakkilikal kooki melle…’ reverberated through the air.

The programme wound up with an all-time favourite ‘Silent night, holy night…’

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Luring tourists with gusto tourism trail
Training programme for teachers
Call for consensus at Sivagiri
Patil to look into KCBC plea for committee
Union of security guards formed
Mosquito menace continues unabated
Ordination golden jubilee
Panel to suggest varsities’ character in draft proposal
Time for Christmas carols
Kochi Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu