Street Carolling in Couva

During the recent Advent season, parishioners of St Paul’s RC Couva and faith communities of Carolina and Orange Valley revived a long-standing tradition of street carolling.

The group sang on the streets of the parish from Carolina, Preysal, Balmain, Roystonia and Orange Valley, over eight evenings bringing much needed cheer to residents.

It was a meaningful experience for me, as a 16-year-old. As we sang, seeing the smiles on the faces of people of all different ages really brought a sense of joy to my heart.

Many people joined in and sang with us, while others quietly listened, but you could tell that it touched everyone in different ways.

There was one woman whom I distinctly remember. She requested the song ‘Joy to The World.’ She seemed a bit tired, maybe even sad, but seeing her eyes light up as we began to sing it really made me smile. This is a great reminder that the little things do matter and even a simple song could brighten someone’s day.

While Christmas shopping in the supermarket, I also came across one of the older women and her husband whom we had sung to in Central Park, Couva. My Mom and I greeted her and asked if she remembered us from the carolling group. Her face instantly lit up as she began to speak about how much happiness our visit brought to her.

She stated, “Since the carolling, I have been telling everyone I met about it.” Her excitement truly showed how much our small act of sharing joy through music had meant to her. One of the many highlights was our visit to the Couva Home for the Aged and the Couva Police Station. To me, it felt great to spread the Christmas cheer, hope and God’s love through something as simple as singing.

Carolling during this Advent season helped me to grow in my faith and I am very grateful to have been a part of it. Just the act of a few people together as a community and showing up for others can really make a difference.

I would like to encourage everyone to participate in this activity in the future as we all grow together in our faith and learn the importance of giving to others. —Zaria Sahadeo