Prelude to Xmas: Santa Vista

I'm pretty sure that 'Santa' had visited All Saints Home for the previous Christmas celebrations, but last saturday, the real deal appeared right before everyone. The Santa Claus who decided to make an early appearance to the folks at ASH was none other than Benny's son in law Danny (I'm not sure I got his name right, so I beg your pardon if I got it wrong). At first, I wasn't quite sure what Benny meant when he told me that Danny will be singing Christmas carols as Santa and decided to continue with preparation works for the Christmas celebration. A couple of minutes later, before we started to make our usual rounds to the wards and sing carols to the elderly, a Santa Claus had trotted down the hallway armed with the sleekest looking guitar to rendezvous with us.

At this juncture, apart from stopping myself from marveling out loud, I was filled with admiration for Danny's superhuman endurance and dedication. In case you forgot, last saturday was quite possibly the hottest and most humid day of this year. Draped in nothing more than a tee-shirt and berms, I was already perspiring under the sweltering heat. The wretched weather's effect on Danny under that thick Santa Claus garb must have been unspeakably worse.


Danny (before donning on Santa's garb)


Ta dah!! Santa Claus has come to ASH, armed with a guitar no less. But where's that bag full of gifts?

And so began our Christmas carols with Santa Claus leading the pack with his booming vocal. At the narrow hallways along the ward, I was starting to feel the full impact of the unbearable heat and stifling humidity. All these was nothing in comparison to what Danny must be going through under that thick garment. Suddenly, I was even more impressed. Despite the weather and belting out at least 5 or 6 songs at every ward, Danny's voice never once wavered during the caroling. I also managed to uncover another stunning revelation: Anita's a great singer. She managed to hit all the high notes that were previously thought to be impossible (perhaps only Eunice can rival Anita's vocal prowess, lol).





Caroling with Santa and a pleasant surprise for the elderly at the wards.


And of course, we did not let slip the opportunity of taking a group photo with Santa.

At the end of all the caroling, my throat was incredibly dry and starting to get hoarse. But it was something I would do again. How often do you get to sing Christmas carols with Santa Claus? Santa did not complain against the wretched weather, instead he heralded forth Christmas spirit to this part of our sunny island all the way from the North pole. That alone is a compelling reason enough to make me believe in Santa. Already, I cannot wait for Christmas to come.