Christmas Eve at York Minster

We've been so busy since our return from Stockholm and on top of that I've been trying to recover from a cold I caught days before we left for Sweden. I think my cold is on the way out...just in time for Christmas.

To start Christmas Eve off right we went to Bettys for breakfast -- always a special treat. They opened this morning at 8 a.m. instead of their usual 9 a.m. starting time. We showed up just before 8 to make sure we didn't have to wait in line but I think the special opening time caught many patrons off guard. The cafe had several open tables even around 9 a.m. I tried the Christmas coffee (a yummy chocolately blend) and the Christmas Fat Rascal (made with Stollen spices) while Brad had his usual scrambled egg and bacon muffin. Everything was delicious as usual.

After breakfast we strolled through town peeking in at a few of the stores. The day was surprisingly mild and clear. James Brindley had Christmas ornaments already on sale at 50% off and I picked up a cute Santa/reindeer snowglobe to add to our Christmas decor. We stopped off home for a bit then headed to the train station to catch the 11:05 train to York. We strolled about in York for a bit; the mild weather was not very festive but the city was looking prettier than ever all decked out for Christmas. Had lunch at the National Trust tearoom and then I began to get antsy about going to York Minster. Today at 4 p.m. they held their annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service. It is quite a popular event and I'd heard one must get to the Minster by 2 to get a good seat. I wondered if there would be even more interest in the service since it will be the first one presided over by John Sentamu, inaugurated as the Archbishop only about a month ago.

I went to stake out our seats by 1:45 p.m. and told Brad he could take his time coming to meet me. I had come prepared for the long wait with a book. It wasn't long before Brad joined me as well. As I read my book, he read the Saturday Independent while we waited. The time went by rather quickly and soon we began to hear the organ music echoing through the minster signalling the start of the service.

I'd never heard of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols until I moved here. The service has a long history and is traditionally held around Christmastime. The Nine Lessons are nine readings from the Bible concerning the life of Jesus. Interspersed between the readings Christmas Carols are sung. The organ and York Minster choir sounded lovely. A procession of clergymen and women, including Archbishop Sentamu decked out in glorious purple robes, made its way through the nave of the Minster. The Lessons were read out by people from all stations of life from the head choir boy to the Archbishop. We recognized many of the carols that were sung by the choir but were surprised that many of them were sung to a different tune than what we are used to. The entire service was televised and I was sure the camera was pointed directly at us more than once or twice. This Christmas Eve in one of the world's greatest cathedrals was definitely one of our most memorable.

We caught the train back into town and stopped off for dinner at the Thai restaurant that opened up where the old Thai restaurant used to be. It was fabulous!! We're home now with just a few more hours till Santa makes his rounds.