On Christmas Eve, as darkness falls over a cold Cambridge, a queue of people in scarves and hats waits outside King’s College Chapel. Inside, candles are lit. And far away, in kitchens and cars around the world, radios are being switched on.
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held at King’s on Christmas Eve in 1918. Dean Eric Milner-White shaped the service after his experience as an army chaplain in the First World War, drawing on an earlier form first used at Truro in 1880. So the tradition has roots beyond Cambridge.
A familiar opening
After it was revised in 1919, the service began with Once in Royal David’s City, and it still does. Readings and prayers provide a continuing framework, while the music changes from year to year. The first broadcast in 1928 began a relationship with listeners far beyond the chapel walls.
A tradition can travel through sound: a Cambridge chapel becoming part of Christmas elsewhere.
Two occasions, often confused
The televised Carols from King’s is a separately recorded service, not the live Christmas Eve Festival, and knowing the difference makes the tradition easier to follow. For many people, simply hearing the music is a way of coming back to Cambridge, wherever they happen to be.
Sources & further reading
Visitor arrangements and event details can change; check with the relevant institution before visiting.