The Sound of Christmas | Video

Cliff Naylor | 12/25/2012

A little holiday concert on the prairie has become so popular, it had to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate all the fans who show up every year for the yuletide musical. The performance is free, and open to the public, but that`s not why it attracts standing room only crowds. People flock to this event because it gives patrons a break from all the stress of holiday shopping, decorating and baking, while offering a simple reminder of the reason for the season.

The traditional one room school Christmas program is a piece of Americana that`s still extremely popular in some rural areas of North Dakota.

"Now boys and girls remember, the reason why we are all doing this is we are going to put our parents in the Christmas spirit," said Sweet Briar teacher Sherilyn Johnson.

The 13 students at the Sweet Briar School have been practicing for a month to make sure their musical exceeds expectations. The children`s performance became so popular, every inch of this twenty-five by twenty foot room had to be used for a stage and seating.

"The dads would take all the desks out of the school and put them in the snowy parking lot and then there would be enough room," Johnson said.

When rearranging this one-room school to squeeze in close to a hundred, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles still didn`t provide enough room, the program was moved to a nearby church. The Sweet Briar Christmas Concert features instrumental music and a variety of traditional songs along with a Latin version of Oh Come All Yee Faithful.

The students say learning to sing music in a different language wasn`t hard.

"Well, actually I kind of memorized it, it`s kind of easy," said third grader Kaden Tomac.

Even when Mrs. Johnson added a verse of Silent Night in sign language, these students still weren`t phased.

"It`s not hard," said first grader Kendra Tomac.

Kassie Voight says only one word is needed to describe this year`s concert.

"Awesome."

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