An English Christmas

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”
From the Holy Bible (Luke 2:8-14)

After three trains, two buses, and seven hours I made it from Coventry, Warwickshire to Wells, Somerset. How I miss having a car! By that transport it would have only taken two hours and thirty minutes. Ah, well, nothing to be done about it!

Wells is a small cathedral city situated in the southwest(ish) region of England and the home of my friend Katherine’s mum. Being family-less for the holidays (by choice, I can thinking of many better ways to spend a thousand dollars than a single round trip plane ticket) Katherine kindly invited me to spend Christmas with her, her mum, Vesta,  and D’Artagnan (the last two are cats, don’t worry).

Having been starved of my usual banquet of Christmas music due to lack of access to my Christmas CDs (I only had time to download one onto my new computer) and limited accessibility to Pandora (don’t ask) I was brimming with excitement to listen to and sing with the choir. Because of this famine I checked out the Cathedral website and planned my Christmas musical endeavors with zeal. On my first evening we went to a candlelight concert in the Cathedral. Apparently being in a Cathedral Choir is a big deal…who knew? Because of this the music exceeded my expectations and the atmosphere put me even deeper into the Christmas spirit.

Sunday evening I got the opportunity to attend the Christmas Carols – in the ‘Blue Section’, prime reserved seating! I sat down ready to sing my heart out with my favorite Christmas tunes. Here’s where having a top-notch choir is a drawback – apparently people want to hear them sing. So instead of an hour or so singing, I spent about half that time listening…lovely, but dang it! I wanted to sing my favorite carols too! However, I was also developing a sneaking suspicion that ‘traditional’ carols in England differ slightly from those in Minnesota. Determined get some good old fashioned singing in, Katherine and I went to the carols and midnight service at St Cuthbert’s Parish Church, which is a stone’s throw from her mum’s house. Eagerly we awaited our chance to sing. I got the list of songs for the carol section and, you guessed it, we got to sing two of the eight. Of those eight I knew three…only one which I was allowed to sing. Thankfully the service itself provided us with a better opportunity to use our own pipes instead of just listening to the organs’. As a whole, however, I enjoyed the more provincial feel where the vicar turned around to check when the choir was going to have Communion, the program had songs that would be sung ‘if we have time’ (yes, it actually said that, verbatim), and a tenor had to turn around and wave – several times – at the organist to signal that everyone had made it through Communion and he could stop playing. To top it off the vicar read John 1 with more flair than I've ever heard it before. Amazing!

Since arriving in Wells I've heard the following songs at least twice (over the course of four services): ‘Unto us a boy is born’, ‘In the bleak midwinter’, ‘Once in royal David’s city’ (with the first verse always being a solo), ‘Jesus Christ the apple tree’, two different songs to the tune ‘Piae Cantiones’ (a melody I couldn't have identified beforehand if asked) and ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem (sung in the other tune). Now I ask you – how many of those songs could you just up and start singing? At least I got ‘O come all ye faithful’ three times to make up for not really knowing most of the other songs. Not fully satisfied with our carol experience, Katherine and I decided that we were going to pull out her dad’s old chorister book and have our own caroling by the piano.

On Christmas morning I woke early (sort of…comparatively…? I admit it was only eight) and attended the morning Eucharist at the Cathedral. As with the rest of the services I've attended in Wells the music was lovely – and I didn't get to sing much. However, it did give me a new experience. During my second Communion in as many days, I sat listening to the choir and suddenly spotted an orange tabby strolling down the central aisle as if he owned the place. No one batted an eye! The gentleman sitting next to me (with whom I’d already been acquainted because – after I asked him to unhook my purse strap from his foot – he realized I ‘ wasn't from around here’ so of course had to ask where I was from and inform me of the person he knew who lived in America). Anyway, he leaned over and whispered, “That’s Louie, he lives here,” like it was normal to have a cat chilling in a Cathedral. Only in England…

Beyond my hunt for caroling it’s been an extremely laid back Christmas break; lots of telly and reading. I've even adjusted well to sleeping on the floor and this morning I didn't even jump when the cats fought a battle royal mere yards from my head!

Tonight I get to watch the Doctor Who and Downton Abbey Christmas Specials (be jealous, my American friends!)and tomorrow I’ll experience my first Boxing Day (which I’m still unsure why it’s a holiday when its entire purpose seems to be eating leftovers – not that I’m complaining!). Overall this has been an interesting, but satisfying, English Christmas.