Advent Calendar - Religious Services

A post for the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories

My family aren't religious so we never attended a Christmas service when I was little, although my dad was a choirboy back in the day so performed at plenty of Christmas services, and my mum also sang in a school choir in an abbey one Christmas.

Listening to the Queen's Christmas message would be the closest custom we have!

3pm, after Christmas lunch has been consumed and Christmas lunch dishes have been dealt with, is the traditional timeslot in England since Her Majesty's first televised broadcast in 1957, although I imagine previous radio broadcasts were at the same time. Here in NZ she's on after the evening news at around 6.50pm - although I might watch her on her YouTube channel this year!

This, of course, would have been quite different to our Wing ancestors' experience of Christmas. A message from the monarch in place of a message from the vicar would have been quite scandalous.