Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-12-04
CHRISTMAS CAROLS
BEING REVIVED
Old World Custom of Christmas Eve
Is Gaining Ground

is Gaining Ground
The revival of the old-time. OIL,
World custom of Christmas Eve car
oling has made such rapid progress
in the United States during the pas
decade. according to the statistics o
the National Bureau for the AID
vancement of Music, that it will b,
organized in probably more thar
2 600 towns and cities this year
many of which are already recruiting
and rehearsing their singers.
Among the first to announce it.
plans is Chicago whose caroling com
mittee includes Mayor Dever as hon
orary chairman, Max Mason and
Harry Pratt Johnson. president and
president emeritus respectively OF
the University of Chicago. Frederick
Stock, director of the Chicago Sym
phony Orchestra, William McAndrew
superintendent of schools. and Mrs
James w. Morrison. president of the
Illinois League of Women Voters.
Hotel Hobbies, schools, churches,
theatres, clubs, homes, hospitals,
jails and all public institutions
where people are gathered will be
visited by groups of carol singers,
and their music will be broadcast by
radio. The committee plans to have
every human voice in Chicago join
in the singing on Christmas Eve and
Christmas morning.
In Detroit, where the caroling has
been done on a larger scale each
year since 1916, the head of the 1925
committee is Mrs. C. B. Chamber
lain, chairman of the Fine Arts De-
partment, Detroit Federation of
Women's Clubs. The Camp Fire
Girls and the Girl Scouts will fur
nish the caroling bands, or waits, for
the residential districts In this city,
as in ST. Louis, Atlanta and others,
a charitable purpose has been COM
bined with the social one of bringing
the message of good will to all
traditional melodies In each of these
places money collected by the carol
ers has gone toward the care of the
city's needy children.
The Music League of Philadelphia
is organizing the caroling in that
city, as it has done for the past two
years. and is preparing $4,000 song
sheets for the purpose. The rehears-
ing will be in the hands mainly of
$50 song leaders, trained by Robert
Lawrence. the well known music di-
rector of Washington, d. C. A spec
ial remembrance CAROL will be
sung where two candles in the win
dow signify that a member OF the
family is absent.
Rural Carolers
One of the interesting later devel-
opments of the movement has been
its spread into the rural communi-
ties, with the carolers conveyed by
auto, or when there is snow on the
ground, by sleigh, from village to
village In North Dakota the State
University at Grand Forks, through /
its extension division, is giving i'm
petus to this activity for the coming
Christmas.
Information Free
For those who wish to organize
caroling groups there is considerable
information and assistance avail
able, which may be obtained by
writing to the National Bureau for
the Advancement of Music at As
West 45th Street. New York, and
which is free upon request in single
copies. 1t includes the general de-
scriptive booklet, Christmas Eve
Caroling Being Revived" outlining
the methods adopted in places of
various sizes, a survey listing the
1885 towns and cities, reports of
whose caroling activity had been re-
ceived up to last year, and paper
pattern of the hood and cape cos
tune which is being widely used by
the itinerant bands, and which adds
so much to the color and pictures
queness of the scene. Those who or
ganize the groups are most frequent
ly school teachers, music teachers.
Sunday school superintendent, club
leaders and individuals generally
who enjoy working with young peo-
pie and helping them to serve their
community.
BIBLE THOUGHTS