NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffPre-K to 8Service
Holiday season brings “Lessons and Carols”
Nov 30, 2004 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
As Darlington School prepares to host its 21st annual Festival of Lessons and Carols in December, it should be noted that the service actually originated more than 125 years ago in the English city of Truro.
In 1918, King’s College, Cambridge University, adopted the service, and the following year, they began the tradition of opening with the hymn “Once in a Royal David’s City.” Credit for the world-fame of the Lessons and Carols service belongs to the BBC, which began broadcasting the King’s College service worldwide in 1928.
Sponsored by the Darlington “Y” Cabinet, this year’s service will take place Sunday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., in Morris Chapel, and will feature the Concert Choir, Darlington Singers, Woodwind Choir and Brass Choir.
“Lessons and Carols has become a wonderful tradition at Darlington that involves students from the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools,” said Sam Moss, associate headmaster and dean of college guidance. “The service is built around nine biblical lessons, beginning with the Creation in Genesis, and rising to the Incarnation, according to St. John. Between the readings, a series of carols and anthems is presented.”
Cassie McCoy, co-president of the “Y” Cabinet said she has been involved in three Lessons and Carols services during her time at Darlington and has seen five.
“As a prospective student to Darlington, I was lucky enough to come on the weekend this service was presented, and as a young, Christian girl, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this service is what brought me to Darlington,” she said. “Being in the Chapel and witnessing the word of God being presented by so many different types of people and in so many ways is enough to show the essence of Darlington.”
At the conclusion of the service, it has become tradition for the congregation to proceed to the peninsula for the Lighting of the Great Tree and caroling. This ceremony honors the lives of the late Dr. and Mrs. E.L. Wright, who began this tree-lighting tradition and who served Darlington for over 40 years. Dr. Wright was Darlington’s headmaster from 1920 until 1954, and president from 1954 to 1963.
“This event shows the amazing qualities that Darlington and its students possess, and is a service that shouldn’t be missed if you have the opportunity to attend,” said McCoy.
In 1918, King’s College, Cambridge University, adopted the service, and the following year, they began the tradition of opening with the hymn “Once in a Royal David’s City.” Credit for the world-fame of the Lessons and Carols service belongs to the BBC, which began broadcasting the King’s College service worldwide in 1928.
Sponsored by the Darlington “Y” Cabinet, this year’s service will take place Sunday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., in Morris Chapel, and will feature the Concert Choir, Darlington Singers, Woodwind Choir and Brass Choir.
“Lessons and Carols has become a wonderful tradition at Darlington that involves students from the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools,” said Sam Moss, associate headmaster and dean of college guidance. “The service is built around nine biblical lessons, beginning with the Creation in Genesis, and rising to the Incarnation, according to St. John. Between the readings, a series of carols and anthems is presented.”
Cassie McCoy, co-president of the “Y” Cabinet said she has been involved in three Lessons and Carols services during her time at Darlington and has seen five.
“As a prospective student to Darlington, I was lucky enough to come on the weekend this service was presented, and as a young, Christian girl, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this service is what brought me to Darlington,” she said. “Being in the Chapel and witnessing the word of God being presented by so many different types of people and in so many ways is enough to show the essence of Darlington.”
At the conclusion of the service, it has become tradition for the congregation to proceed to the peninsula for the Lighting of the Great Tree and caroling. This ceremony honors the lives of the late Dr. and Mrs. E.L. Wright, who began this tree-lighting tradition and who served Darlington for over 40 years. Dr. Wright was Darlington’s headmaster from 1920 until 1954, and president from 1954 to 1963.
“This event shows the amazing qualities that Darlington and its students possess, and is a service that shouldn’t be missed if you have the opportunity to attend,” said McCoy.
