It’s “Dial A Carol” Time

And, as one would expect, it’s absolutely infectious. According to the Washington Post, it all started in 1960 when the dormitory’s office secretary persuaded the then all-male dorm to sing carols for callers during the holiday season. For volunteers at Dial-A-Carol, the tradition of singing Christmas carols for strangers over the phone is 55 years strong.

“Most students of the building participate, regardless of musical ability, religion, or the fact that it’s finals week”, Kirsten Ruby, a spokeswoman for the university’s housing, said.

So who are the favorite calls to get?

The phone number is (217) 332-1882. It took just 14 hours for Dial-A-Carol to receive calls from all 50 states, and the calls don’t stop at the USA border-so far this year, over four dozen countries from across the globe have dialed in to hear a carol.

Last year, according to the University Facebook page, students sang more than 6800 songs! I (as the replying member of the Dial-a-Carol team) would love to be able to sing “What’s This?” from the Nightmare Before Christmas.

Dial-A-Carol is available daily, 24-7 until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16.