The sound of a young boy chorister’s piercing high voice echoes through the church, singing the first verse of “Once in Royal David’s City.” On the second verse, the choir and congregation join in. So begins the opening carol of the Advent Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
Churches across the world celebrate this service of word and music. Over the course of 90 minutes, congregants hear the story of Jesus’ birth foretold in the Old Testament, from Genesis through Isaiah, culminating in the birth narrative of Luke and the soaring prologue of John 1:1-18; “In the Beginning was the Word….”
This moving celebration began when an Anglican bishop sought a way to keep his parishioners out of the pubs on Christmas Eve. Bishop Edward White Benson created the first service in 1880, at Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, England. He thought his festive service would be a much better way to celebrate.
Anglican churches, and those coming out of the Anglican church, continue the tradition. As a child growing up in the United Methodist Church, I remember each Christmas Eve service as a special time of hearing my friends and fellow church members read the lessons, followed by the best songs of Christmas.
An elementary school student reads the first lesson. As the service continues, an older reader takes the lesson: from a high school student, then a collegian, to adults and seniors. In between we sing.
Our church celebrated Lessons and Carols December 21, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Our parish is special in that the minster of music invites any member who has a musical offering to sign up for a slot. In years past families sang together; others performed duets and trios. This year, a male quartet performed an acapella rendition of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.”
Best of all, the children of the church gave the seventh lesson on the Birth of Christ from Luke 2 as a mini-nativity play. I walked into a crowded nave before the service to see parents tie felt white sheep ears on toddlers. Tiny shepherds threatened to wield their shepherd’s crooks as light sabers, as angels tugged on their golden pipe cleaner halos. I saw a seven-year-old shepherd dragging his baby sister (playing a sheep) by the hand down the aisle to the manger. Each year, the cutest, funniest moment of the service for me is when the band of shepherds shouts their big line: “Let’s go to Bethlehem!”
Today, the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge produces the most famous Lessons and Carols service each year on Christmas Eve. In 1918, dean of the chapel Eric Milner-White championed the service after his return from World War I. England was bleak from four years of misery and deprivation. Milner-White wanted a service that would inspire and bring joy to a war-weary people. In 1928 King’s College broadcast the service for the first time, starting an annual tradition. Almost 100 years later, millions of people listen to the broadcast around the world. Years ago, when I worked in outdoor sales, I scanned the car radio Christmas Eve morning and by pure serendipity stumbled upon it.
To listen to the live performance from the King’s College chapel this year, tune in your local PBS/classical music station. Over 400 radio stations across America plan to broadcast it at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT. December 24.
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