Will Ferrell, or rather, the iconic Buddy, is quoted by having said, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” This is something the Owatonna Christmas carolers have taken to heart. And they have for 75 years. That’s right, long before Will Ferrell was even born, the carolers have been proudly caroling around the Owatonna community.

The carolers will make 102 appearances this year, which is typical for a caroling season. Each appearance varies in length, but is about 15 minutes long. Director Christopher Harris said, “It is a very long grueling season, it’s a lot of late week nights. Usually we go three hours after school and we do weekends.”

Make no mistake, caroling does get repetitious. The carolers are expected to sing six of their 28 carols at every appearance. And that’s not including the time it took to memorize them. It is a lot of work, and a lot of repetition, but it is worth every minute of it for the ensemble. New to carolers this year is junior bass Albert Rysavy. To Rysavy, the work he has put in has already paid off. “It’s a lot of hard work but if you make it in, and start singing for people and seeing their faces, it’s really rewarding. To be able to make other people happy- the work definitely pays off. It’s worth the effort.”

While the carolers agree with Buddy that it is important to sing loudly, they believe it equally as important to sing well. The carolers will tell you that they proudly maintain a tradition of quality to their sound. “I like the fact that the community thinks it’s just ‘oh look at the carolers isn’t this cute’ – they just look at the cosmetic part of it. They don’t even necessarily know the hard work that goes into it. And that’s okay. It’s a personal satisfaction,” said Harris.

According to senior bass Matt Van Ommeran, what keeps him in the caroling spirit is the joy the carolers are able to spread. This, and also that it gives the choir an opportunity to showcase it’s talents to the community. Van Ommeran said,“What makes carolers so different is that we reach out to the community and perform for people that wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to Owatonna’s choral program.”

Although the carolers surpass the requirements of Christmas cheer that Buddy the Elf deems necessary, the carolers take it one notch further. An expectation of the carolers is to look happy whenever in the carolers robe. It is ‘don we know our gay apparel’, but literally.

Be it since September or starting now, the celebrating of the holidays could be done in many ways. However, the carolers would love to spread their cheer with the students this season- be sure to check out the caroling schedule and try to make an appearance!