Christmas Carols

Every year for the past 25 years, the Cornish town of Lostwithiel has hosted what may be the last non-commercial carol singing event in the country. A turn-out of more than 200 people is not unusual for this event which is quite a substantial amount of people for a small Cornish town.

The event was originally devised by Rachel John, authoress of the Cornish Book of Saints and editor of the Penguin Dictionary of Saints. Initially it took place with the help of Lostwithiel Chamber of Commerce which folded in 1998. The pageant takes place on the third Saturday of every December. A walking Tableau of biblical characters, in full costume set out from the Community Centre at 4.15 and process through the town of Lostwithiel, stopping at key points and singing Christmas Carols, with music played by the Lostwithiel Silver Band. A tasty, mulled drink is provided en route and there is bread and soup at the Community Centre after the pageant. The Pageant is organised and run by local people in a voluntary capacity. Regular characters include:

This is not a religious event as such and is completely non-denominational, mixing people from different faiths. There is no shaking of money boxes or begging for donations at doorsteps. In all it is a real celebration of local community and the Christmas spirit. The carols are Christmas classics. Click the poster below to download a free PDF of these carols that you can print and fold into an A5 booklet for your own carol singing. If you click it with your left mouse button it will open in a new window. If you right click you can 'save as' to your computer for later printing. Print the first page and turn the paper over and print the second page on the other side, similarly with the other six sheets. Then order your booklet - the page numbers are printed and the booklet is ordered for print. All the best for Christmas!