Carols of Many Nations at Princeton Theological Seminary

Over the years I have written about how much I enjoy Princeton Theological Seminary's annual Carols of Many Nations service. As our blog only goes back to 2011, I am not sure exactly when we started to attend this service. According to the 2011 post, it was already a solid tradition in our household.

I love hearing the familiar scriptures read in a multitude of different languages, in many cases obscure languages I would not otherwise have the opportunity to hear. It sends a strong message about how Christianity has spread all over the globe. That we share the same message about Jesus coming to Mary and Joseph as a baby and his light shines throughout the world.

At the end, the different readers
say "I am the light of the world"
in their own language

There were two differences for us this year. The first is since neither one of us is working, we went to the 3:30 pm service. The second is we sat downstairs. Dad is 79 years old and keep saying stairs are no longer his friend. My parents arrived very early, we only arrived 20 minutes early, but they were already at the front of an ever growing line. So, yes, we did cut the line. A few years back, even before the pandemic, PTS issued free tickets for the event. I was the one who procured the tickets for the four of us, they were the ones to make sure we got good seats. A fair deal.

Somehow the service felt different from this new vantage point. When the choir spread out to stand next to the pews, our pew was included. At the end, rather than taking a picture from up high looking down, I took a picture from down low looking up high.

This year I noted it felt faster than in past years. I feel the director included more opportunities for the congregation to also sing, which made the time pass quicker. It felt more inclusive to me. 

Over the past couple of weeks I've been surprised by how many people have told me they went to the same service -- in many cases, the exact same service. It holds a special place in the hearts of those who know about it. 

Typically on the same evening, Princeton University also holds their Lessons and Carols service, which is another beloved tradition. It feels like too much on the same night, but if I ever find them on different nights again, I'll go to both in the same year.

The 3:30 service ended
at sunset

Caroling at the end

After the service the choir director leads us in carols printed (in English) on the back of our booklet. This gets us to leave the sanctuary fairly quickly so they can clean up and prepare for the 6:30 and 8:30 services (each service is about 80 minutes long).

Spending time with my parents