Christmas is Here: Carol Singing by Kottara Ward

Kottara Ward members went carol singing to usher in the Christmas Season this week. As decided in the SCC meeting of last year to continue this tradition, the young and old alike gathered at the residence of Ronald and Aileen Pinto on 11th Dec and did a quick round of practice before getting started.

Gerald Castelino began the carol singing with an opening prayer. The group of more than 30 ward members – kids, young and elders visited each house on three consecutive days and covered 38 houses. A konkani and an English Carol followed by Feliz Navidad was sung in each house.

Santa Claus distributed sweets to little children and a star to each family as a token of the joyous season. The gifting of the star had a threefold significance. First, it would remain as a token of gratitude for the support of the ward members throughout the year, Second as it was prepared by the youth under the guidance of the Youth Commission of the parish, it would encourage them to bring out their talents and third, help them in their fundraising cause.

It was indeed a wonderful opportunity for the ward members to visit each house, especially the sick and the elders, to wish them in advance for Christmas and to pray for them. The enthusiasm and energy will surely help to continue the Carol singing tradition in the coming years.

The ward members expressed their gratitude to Cleon Menezes who accompanied them with the guitar and Antony Machado who was visiting Mangalore from Pune. He happily volunteered to be the Santa.