Oh the Singing Inside Is Frightful...

A friend from where I used to work sent me an e-mail yesterday. "Don't want you to feel left out!" she wrote. I clicked on the attached message to see that the holiday carollers were once again going to be strolling the office building on Friday, spreading cheer. This happens every year on the morning of the annual holiday party.

I replied to her, "Why, thank you! Picture me cowering under my desk..."

I have no idea why the carollers made me cringe every year, but I would take extreme measures to avoid them. Even, I admit, ducking out of sight and holding my ears. They weren't inordinately untalented; some of the singers did in fact have good voices. It just always struck me as such an invasive display, such a breach of the professional-personal wall. I would actually feel embarrassed on behalf of the singers.

Then there was the inappropriateness of foisting Christmas tunes on employees who do not celebrate the holiday. The organization I worked for is extremely sensitive to issues like that (note the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Peace banners hung across the lobby), but the carolling tradition has lasted so many years that I can only surmise that no one has complained about it.

Except in private, of course. Or on a completely not-private blog.