Memories.... That was one of my favorite Christmas carols as a child. There were 5 of us kids, all born within 6 years. When I was in about 4th grade for a few years, my mom would have each of us invite 3 or 4 friends, and we would have a caroling party, and go out door to door singing in the neighborhood. With enough voices, you can sound pretty good! Then we would go home for hot chocolate and doughnuts. A big dutch-oven sized pot of milk on the stove, with cocoa powder and sugar, were used to make the cocoa!
Two of the high caliber ensembles of my music career used to hire out to tech companies for “Rent-A-Carol” performances.
They were fun as well as profitable. Some concerts were freely done for retirement homes or hospital wards, for those who could not otherwise hear them. The delight in the faces of the very old and very young was more valuable than the money.
We mixed Baroque, Renaissance, Modern, and Popular. They were mostly SATB, but some were divisi. This one was a staple.
When I was in the ninth grade, my best friend asked me if I would like to go caroling with her Baptist Youth Fellowship, on the chronic ward of the State Mental Hospital (a truly horrible place), but I said sure, and brought my guitar to accompany the carolers.
I wrote a song for the occasion, which I recorded almost a half century later:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz8y6FCiAPE&list=PLzT3p98dZivSXJGV1PcVRaoTT7WcULeup&index=4
(((You know this one!)))