03.12.2009 15:00

What's on?: The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

For many people, a long-standing Christmas tradition is listening to the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the chapel of King's College, Cambridge. It takes place at 3pm (GMT) on December 24th and usually follows the same pattern every year, though one or two new carols may be included. By tradition, the service begins with a lone choirboy singing the first verse of the carol Once in royal David's city, unaccompanied. The choirboy is chosen only minutes before the performance, so tension is high! The King's College line-up of 16 boy choristers has stayed the same in number since 1440, and is boosted by the adult voices of King's College undergraduates. The first service was held on Christmas Eve 1918, weeks after the end of the Great War's four years of mass slaughter. Ten years later, the service was first broadcast on the radio.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is heard on the radio all over the world by millions of listeners. If you want to attend in person, the service is open to the public and there are no tickets and no admission fee - but to guarantee getting a ticket, you would have to queue for up to two days! But why not enjoy this wonderful choral experience in your own home by tuning in to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve on Radio 4 at 1500 GMT.

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