It must have been rather eerie for any Westerner, any one for that matter to hear a choir singing "It came upon the midnight clear" on the bank of the Rajang River all those years ago...
To us growing up by the banks of the Rajang, we were used to Midnight Carollers singing their hearts out, their carols seemed to float above the water. It was even more "ghostly" seeing white robed carollers getting into and out of a motor launch near midnight. 30 or 40 carollers from the Methodist Church would actually visit homes in the night.....before Christmas to spread the glad tidings.
Many would be carrying lighted candles and torch lights as they walked along the small paths, as they sang their carols.
Those long ago days when we had no electricity.....
In December, the carollers led by their pastor..would sing as the boat slowed down and the angelic voices could be heard very clearly...."It came upon the mid night clear....." "Hark the Herald Angels Sing..."..."Silent night, holy night..."
The strongest man in the group would carry a pressure lamp, using a wooden holder, to lead the way to the village houses...
Carolling by river boat was an unforgetable event.
Each December we would look forward to carolling from house to house by the river banks in the 50's and 60's.
Today carolling is no longer the same.
The river boats in those days were slightly different, as they were powered by small diesel engines.
A lamp would be attached to the CROSS on the roof in the front portion of the boat. This was a security measure so that bigger ships would not ram into these small Foochow boats plying along the river. When the boat was berthed at a jetty, onlyh a small kerosene lamp was lit especially when the boat man was doing the night shift. Normally no one slept in the boat because life was so safe in those days.
River boats are being phased out now and very few people live along the river banks . furthermore they are no longer dependent on river boats for transport.
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