Christmas Eve at King's

It seems like another world now but Jim and I spent Christmas Eve in Cambridge awaiting the chance to join the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College. We have listened to this service for nearly sixteen years when it has been broadcast live on the Indianapolis public radio station at 10 am on Christmas Eve. Despite the challenge of the snow, the chilly and damp weather, the need to be up very early to get to King's Cross for the train, and the prospect of standing for hours on end, we were committed to being there to be a part of the congregation at King's this year.

So, shortly before 6 am, we launched out onto the dark streets of Belsize Park in London, armed with smoked salmon sandwiches, Tyrrell's potato chips, and Oyster cards heading for the Chalk Farm tube heading to King's Cross for the 7:15 am train to Cambridge.

The train got in promptly just past 8 am and we bundled into a cab and headed to King's. It was cold and damp, this being England and there having been snow on and off all week. The snow of course made everything look picture perfect and added to the holiday spirit in the air. We marched through the gate and right to the end of the queue. We asked the porters if they knew how many people had already were there and they guessed close to 400 (of the 650 total that are allowed in). You can see the start of the queue in the second picture. There is a man, a former fellow of the College, who got there almost two days ahead to be the first in line. Six or seven others spent the night in line...all to be part of the first 150 people who can then sit in the quire of the Chapel. Since we were nowhere near the front, we were just happy to be there and even happier to discover everyone had access to the College Commons where there was coffee, tea, hot chocholate, food, and most importantly...toilets!

And so the time passed. They would not be letting people into the Chapel until 1:30 so we have a little over 5 hours in line. I thought the first 45 minutes went the slowest...it was chilly, we hadn't met those around us, and we didn't know how things would play out. But then as we did begin conversations with the delightful people around us in the queue, the time began to pass quickly. I wandered down toward the river for a little exercise and was able to take this lovely picture! This is England! What you can't see is the group of Japanese tourists who were punting down the Cam! It was a bit cold for that!

Back in line, we shared stories, food, Christmas traditions, and jokes with those around us. The family in line ahead of us were down to join their daughter who was working on a nursing degree at Cambridge. The man ahead of them had been coming to King's for this service since 1969! Now that's commitment! He and I concurred that the 2008 service was awful...too much modern music, too dissonant...apparently many people who heard or were at the service had complained so he was interested to see what they would do this year. The guys behind us just moved to Cambridge and were now living in a house about a ten minute walk from Kings (They also had a house in Yorkshire...as you do)! Lucky men!

There was lots of activity around us too. The choristers came marching by at one point in their top hats, scarves, and robes.

Around noon, the adult members of the choir showed up. That's them in the picture below. They all had Santa-style hats or in one case a hat with reindeer antlers. It was wonderful. They were wandering up and down the queue singing all the old campy Christmas songs, like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph, and many others. What a treat to hear them doing these types of songs when we kneww they would be taking us to the heights of Christmas ecstasy with the traditional religious carols in just a few more hours.

Before we knew it, it was 1:30 pm and the line was marching toward to the Chapel. We had amazing seats. We had only a partial view into the main part of the chapel but who cares! It was King's College Chapel! We stood for the Mayor and other officials as they entered in procession. Then came the choir led by the crucifer and tapers and the service got underway at 3 pm. There we were...knowing many of our friends were listening to the service back home. We were together for Christmas through that service across the miles. The service was everything one could every want. Apparently responding to the public outcry, we were given an ultra-traditional service with all the favorite carols. Even the unusual and contemporary pieces fit in with the others. There was nothing that sounded out of place...it was a choral Christmas banquet and we were there for it!

This was a Christmas experience of a lifetime and was one of the centerpieces of this year's Christmas season. So while we are now home and getting ready for the next big liturgical season of Lent, I look back and think wow...I was there.