Main image: The Christmas cantata takes place at the Senado Square at 7pm tonight. (Photo: Oswald Pio Vas)
Marco Carvalho
Tradition is still what it used to be and Senado Square will, once again, host Christmas carols and hymns on Christmas Eve, the Diocesan Youth Commission has informed O Clarim.
The organization is committed to keep the initiative alive. The Christmas Eve carolling session in the heart of the historic center of Macau was first held in 1998 and it has never been interrupted. Around 50 volunteers, including students from local Catholic schools and universities and members from the liturgical choirs of different parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Macau, will sing some of the best-known Christmas carols in a space that is considered by many to be the city’s ceremonial hall.
A new wave of coronavirus infections is spreading like wildfire, but Tammy Chio believes that the tradition will remain untouched and that the message of the birth of Jesus Christ will once again echo with joy in the heart of the city.
“We prepared this initiative like we always do. Over the last few weeks, a group which combines young and not-so-young Catholics from various parishes, have gathered to rehearse,” the deputy director of the Diocesan Youth Comission told O Clarim.
“Many of them have been participating in this initiative for many years and they are eager to sing Christmas carols at Senado Square, as has been customary over the last few years,” Tammy Chio Chu Cheng adds.
The Christmas cantata takes place in the early evening of December 24th around 7 pm, hours before Midnight Mass and the announcement of the Nativity of Christ. In Tammy Chio’s opinion, the carolling session constitutes an unsurpassable opportunity to spread the true breadth of the Christmas message.
“We try to organize this Christmas carolling session every year because, we, the Catholic community of Macau, see it as an opportunity to proclaim our faith in the city center. The choir brings together around 40 to 50 people. Over these last few years, the number has remained mostly unchanged. Our aim is to proclaim the true message of Christmas. Christmas is not about presents, nor is about spending money on buying gifts. It is not even about decorating the tree. The true meaning of Christmas is that God has given us a gift. That gift was Jesus,” Tammy Chio concludes.
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