Local Christmas Carolers bring it back old school

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Also known as wassailing, an old Norse term, there are few things more iconic to Christmas than rosy-cheeked churchgoers going door to door singing holiday hymns.

Christmas carolers were the pre-Mariah Carey “Merry Christmas” album alternative to a holiday soundtrack, before going platinum was a thing. Back then, audiences ranged in household occupancy and singers were said to be paid in figgy pudding. A lot has changed.

Not so much for Rachel Root, however.

Root, Music Director at Christ Episcopal Church, is also the musical director of a very old-fashioned Christmas Caroling group in Ponte Vedra Beach—a group that keeps Christmas as classic as the dusty and dog-eared pages of a Charles Dickens novel. Root started the group after seeing the impact the traditional songs had on her friends and family.

“I realized how strongly people build memories around the songs,” Root said. “It brings back a lot of wonderful memories for people. These are songs that have been passed down through the generations.”

While the group doesn’t pop up door-to-door to sing at surprised homeowners, they do, however, book luncheons, events and Christmas parties, with the money they raise going to fund music scholarships for young people.

They also are sure to dress from head to toe in traditional caroling garb. Bonnets, floor length skirts, Victorian blouses, top hats and white gloves give their audiences a complete throwback experience.

“The costumes are an investment,” Root said. “They have to pass muster. There are lots of different interpretations of what people think the costume needs to be.”

Although the costumes draw heavily on Victorian English winter fashion, there are days where Florida doesn’t have the same designs. Humidity and rain, however, doesn’t stop the group from recreating the standardized Christmas we all seem to hold in our heads.

Root says that the group’s dedication to caroling stems from their love of music and Christmas songs. While some members are professional singers and some are students majoring in vocal studies, others just love the music and want to put their heart in soul into the songs they grew up with.

“There is not very much in our human culture that is ‘soul-ish.’” Root said. “I think it touches deeply; it penetrates. It’s emotional. For some people with dementia, these songs are some of the few things they remember. They’ll start singing along.”

 

 

To book the Christmas Carolers, call Rachel Root at (253) 222-5542.