Every year, one of the most anticipated and well-loved holiday programs we bring you on WGUC is the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, England. This is one of the few specials we air twice a season because you have made it a part of your Christmas celebration.
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| King's Choir and College |
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a program of Bible stories and traditional carols, was first held at King’s College on Christmas Eve 1918 with a chorus comprised partly of Chorus Scholars and partly by older Lay Clerks. Since 1927, the voices you hear are fourteen of the college’s undergraduates.
The order of the service was rearranged in 1919 and new carols have been introduced in the intervening years, but the backbone of the service has remained virtually unchanged. One thing you can always count on is the service’s opening carol will be “Once in royal David’s city” – that has remained the same since 1919.
Other churches have created their own versions and King’s College has received copies of services held in far flung parts of the world, proving how the tradition started in 1918 has been adopted by church communities around the globe.
Please enjoy this video, created last year during the 100th anniversary of this beloved Christmas event: A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
WGUC will air A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from Cambridge on Christmas Eve at 10 a.m. and the encore on Christmas Day at 4 p.m. You can listen on-air on 90.9, online at wguc.org, on the free WGUC app, or by asking your smart speaker to Play WGUC.
