Merry merry merry merry Christmas!

December 19, 2009
I never would have expected it, but people go Christmas caroling here! Now, you may picture a small group of people going door to door, which would be the typical American way. But, when in Nepal...

To start, caroling is scheduled. This is partially because most people don’t know their neighbors like we do in the US. All houses are gated in for security reasons, so you can’t just go knock on a door. Well, you could knock on the gate, I suppose, but that would not be quite as effective :)! It’s also because there’s a huge group of people, usually more than 20 or 30 who travel together. And finally, there’s a full sound system. Mics, amps, guitars, drums, it’s all there!

So, they arrive in mass, either by foot, grimacing under the weight of a stage worth of equipment, by a fleet of vehicles, or by a flatbed truck (my personal favorite!), with all the carolers packed on! Then, the 20+ minute unloading, set uping (in Nepal, adding ‘ing’ to any word is legitimate!) process begins, with the neighbors peeking over the edge of their roofs to see what the loud commotion is! Finally, the whole house comes out, sitting on benches, on roofs, on fences, wherever they can find a seat. Then the music begins!

All the songs a familiar, but none are known to me. But most have an awesome beat, which jumps into your feet and the shoe tapping, foot stomping begins! And soon, there are people dancing around the driveway, hands alighting in the air, feet lightly tapping as though through rings of fire! Twirling here and there, moving over and on top of wires, in and out of the beat! For about 30 minutes we sing, and then finally, we give everyone a cup of milk tea and a roll or some other pastry item and sit and talk for about 30 minutes before they head out! Quite an experience :).