By Regina Depietro ‘07 News Staff Reporter
As the holiday season approaches, the Choate Rosemary Hall community awaits all that the season has to offer. On Sunday, December 11th, at 5pm, Reverend Trister and the Campus Ministry will be re-telling the Christmas story through the Lessons and Carols service. The program used is a model of the program from King’s College in Cambridge, England and has been in existence for almost 100 years.
The tradition first started at Choate with the “Vespers of Christmas,” where the Choate boys and faculty would gather together to sing Christmas carols. The boys also participated in the Christmas banquet the night before they departed for home and sat through Headmaster George St. John’s reading of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.
The seniors of Rosemary Hall celebrated Christmas with a nativity play at St. Bede’s Chapel. And in 1963, before Choate and Rosemary Hall merged, the two schools celebrated a joint Lessons & Carols service at the Choate Chapel.
This year, Lessons and Carols promises to be both entertaining and spiritual. “You don’t have to be Christian to enjoy it,” said Reverend Marc Trister. Headmaster Edward Shanahan, English teacher Edward McCatty, Fourth Form Deans Assistant Wendy Marrinan, Jacqueline Salamack ‘06, and Jeff Berry ‘06 will all read seasonal lessons and Reverend Trister is preparing a Christmas sermon.
The Chamber Chorus, the Festival Chorus, and the Handball choir will delight the students, faculty, alumni, and parents with seasonal music. If good weather holds, at least 300 people are expected to attend and will get to enjoy the splendor of the newly-renovated St. John Chapel.
Later in the week, everyone in the school will gather together for the Holiday Special Program, which is intended to bring the school together before everyone departs for home. Reverend Marc Trister, HPRSS teacher Mr. Joel Backon, English teacher Mr. Dean Easton, and HPRSS teacher Mr. James Davidson have all worked extremely hard to make the program as entertaining as possible and it promises to be different than in the past. Look forward to hearing selections from the Jazz band, the Gray Sanders trio, Whimawehs, Maiyeros, and Milagros. The Campus Ministry hopes that everyone has a good time through the song, music, and video provided.
