Flyby Tries: Christmas Caroling

Flyby Blog is obviously the #1 bringer of cheer to Harvard (you know this, because you’re reading us right now). Last year, we went trick-or-treating, and during our rounds, someone suggested we come back for caroling — and even said she’ll give us hot cocoa. And if there’s one thing about Flyby, it’s that we take suggestions from our audience. So, of course, we had to spread holiday cheer on a very cold Thursday by caroling with our very own Harvard carols. Feel inspired? Follow along to see how it went.

Before the Carols

A sea of our adoring fans. By Tina Chen

So, it’s really hard to coordinate a lot of very busy blog writers during finals. We knew this, but we didn’t really KNOW this until we tried to make a group chat and everyone had “finals” and “papers” and “other things to do.” We also didn’t really know if caroling entailed standing in one place and singing, or whether we would be going door-to-door. Bothering freshmen in their dorms was raised as an option, as was stalking Khurana to his home by Pfoho. But ultimately we decided we didn’t want to have to look our audience in the eyes as they stood awkwardly on the threshold of their homes and internally begged for us to leave. So we chose to post up at the Science Center Plaza and just sing our little hearts out there.

We managed to scrounge up three of us to go to the Science Center Plaza as the sun was setting at… 4 p.m…. Things were not

The Caroling

Our fearless caroling leaders, Alex and Eve. By Tina Chen

In fact, we almost bailed on the idea of caroling completely. But, in the name of Flyby and of sound journalism, we knew we had to commit ourselves. And so we did. In front of a massive crowd of adoring fans and spectators, we sang our very own Harvard carols as well as the first verse to “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” (that Tina claimed she did not know the lyrics to). What we really mean by “massive crowd of adoring fans and spectators” is one dude biking past us on his way to Berg and the Science Center Plaza food truck staff who were packing up for the day.

Take a bow for the wonderful show. By Tina Chen

After the Carols

After about five minutes of “singing” in the cold (and after taking enough photos to document our caroling attempt) we were feeling pretty accomplished. So obviously, we had to treat ourselves to some fancy hot chocolate from L.A. Burdick. In our objective opinion, it was a job well done, followed by a treat well deserved. Hard work pays, and so does the Flyby credit card.

Our well-deserved hot chocolates. By Tina Chen

Flyby definitely tried to go Christmas caroling. But we definitely also failed to go Christmas caroling. Maybe we’ll try again next year. Fa la la la la, la la la la.