CHRISTMAS IS ROUND THE CORNER.

I could remember very vividly that as a youth, I was selected as one of the altar boys serving the Sunday masses weekly. From an altar-boy, I was recruited as a member of the choir. I was overjoyed as I have a passion for singing especially the Christmas carols. We had to stay back after each mass to practise singing the Christmas carols a month before Christmas as we were required to visit the houses listed in the iterinary. I felt so excited about singing. When the time was drawing near, we were asked to dress smartly during the rehearsals. We had a few more practices to near perfection before taking off. There were about fifteen boys and girls in the choir. As I was short, I was asked to stand in the front roll. My goodness, I felt a bit nervous and shy but I braced myself by remaining calm. Those standing in front were very noticeable so I could not afford to make any mistake.

We visited the first house belonging to Mr, Chong. The whole families and relatives were waiting for us to greet them with Christmas songs. We belted out our best performance but to our surprise, Mr. Chong and the other members of the family and relatives joined in. After the carol-singing was over, we recited a short prayer requesting the Lord to bless the foods which we were about to eat. Mr. Chong must have spent sometime preparing the foods and drinks before-hand. We were cautioned by our Choir leader (Jim) not to fill our stomachs too much as we had about four more houses to visit. Jim was right, a good thing that most of us were small eaters so we ensured that we did not filled our stomachs until we reached the last house where we ate to our satifaction. Jim collected the red packets for our efforts from each of the houses. In fact, I never felt better as Jim was beaming with a smile, each we left the house. He told us that he was mighty proud to work with us and was anxiously looking forward for the next Christmas.

When we reached home, it was almost midnight. My parents were worried about me as it was late for my standard as I usually sleep at nine at night. I could not sleep as both my mother and father wanted to know how I felt and whether we enjoyed ourselves. I told them that we were feeling so excited for next Christmas to come. I was tossing in the bed with my eyes wide open and felt happy that we sang to our level best. The Christmas carols which we sang kept ringing in my ears. Merry X'mas n a Happy New Year.