holiday lights at bottom of Grafton street, across from Trinity
The first Christmas event I attended (Dec. 14th) was called "A Service of Lessons and Carols in Advent" and was a combination of prayer service and songs, some of which I knew and some which were either new to me or sung quite differently than I knew them from the States! One song was sung completely in Latin, with some solo verses mixed in by a couple chorus members. It was quite lovely. The Chaplaincy hosted wine and mince pies afterward...yes, mince pies. Quite the big holiday tradition over here. You either like it or you don't - I grew up with them at every holiday as they are my dad's fave, so I'm not overly excited by the mass-produced mini mince pies here (nothing like mom's homemade goodies, right?), but they're not bad.
Mince pies
The third chorus event was also at Trinity on Dec 17th at 8pm. It worked out well as my friend Juliette (from LLM program) and I attended the 6pm "Christmas Commons", which is basically a formal-ish dinner served in the Dining Hall. I say "ish" because although it's considered a nice dinner, i spied many students in sweatshirts and jeans! Oh well, to each their own. Trinity's Dining Hall reminds me of the dining hall in Harry Potter. There were many students who brought their parents, who thought it was really neat to have a Commons dinner. We sat across from a girl who was explaining to her parents some of the formalities of Commons: each time the door is knocked (can't miss it), everyone must stand up; scholars sit at their own table together, and each time the group of scholars passes by, everyone must stand up.
(Pardon the quality of these photos - I forgot my camera and had to use my phone camera)
Christmas Commons table in Dining Hall
The Chapel Choir at Christmas Commons
Do you agree this room feels Harry Potter-esque?
The food was good - they even had a vegetarian option! While others had a plate full of stuffing, a huge slab each of turkey and ham, I had delicious zucchini with a crusted cheesy topping. Sides were mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots and peas. Dessert? Nope, not minced pies, but another Irish biggie (although I think it started in England): Christmas pudding! If you're not familiar, think of it as fancified less-cakey fruitcake with lots of raisins, currants, cherries, apples, dates, figs, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc., usually served with brandy butter, which is exactly as it sounds. It's actually not bad, although very rich. It's worth trying once just to see. I wouldn't exactly run to the market to purchase one, but I'd recommend trying it if you are ever here or in the UK.
So after Christmas Commons we went to the Trinity Singers Concert, again in the campus chapel. According to the booklet they handed out, almost 60 singers were part of this concert, and the group itself totals over 200 in members. They sang 19 songs, one of them with a second-year music student who played the accordion, which was beautiful. A couple of solos were mixed in with familiar and unfamiliar songs. The conductor chose a global range of music for this concert, representing many different styles of musical composition...English Renaissance carols to traditional Hungarian church music. Also an Ave Maria that is completely different than the traditional one that we all probably know.
The day before Christmas Commons, I attended "Carols at Christ Church" - this was absolutely beautiful and a lot of fun or, as they say here, "great craic" - which, as I've previously explained to Greg and Kathy, is pronounced "great crack"...! Juliette had recommended this to me and I almost didn't go, but I'm so glad I did now. I got there about 45 min early and got 3rd row seats, which was great. I sat next to an older gentleman whose daughter was in the Girls' Choir; it was really cute to see him so proud of his daughter. He told me during the intermission that the choir commitment is 5 days per week! 3 weekdays and Sat/Sun. He said she leaves school at 3pm to arrive at choir practice by 4pm.
Christ Church is a beautiful 11th C. medieval cathedral. It's said to be the oldest building in Dublin. There is so much history, great architecture as well as the crypt downstairs. I had been here in 2007 as a tourist, but now it was kinda neat to be back for a community event. The compère (what we would call the master of ceremonies) was really fun and got the audience involved in certain songs. The evening consisted of 2 choirs: The Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral Girls' Choir. I was truly in awe at their talents. The soloists gave me shivers. Their rendition of Silent Night, also with soloists mixed in, was splendid... I wanted them to sing it again! The first half closed with a soloist performing Oh Holy Night, one of my fave Christmas songs... the woman was absolutely amazing, I definitely had chills. The second half was much more lighthearted, starting with Good King Wenceslas (I always think of the funny scene in Love Actually when Hugh Grant's driver starts singing this song...), then We Three Kings, Jingle Bells, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...and then ... Santa arrived! Santa (aka the compère) got the audience singing Happy Birthday to the Archbishop and the Dean, then explained to us how we would all participate in and sing the 12 Days of Christmas together. Certain program leaflets were marked with various #s or words, which meant you were a lucky recipient of various musical objects, such as a whistle, bells, rattle, french horn, etc. If you had an instrument, you were to sound it when your Day of Christmas came up in the song! The Five Golden Rings did not have an instrument, but instead we were to all stand up and turn in a circle each time. After that, one of the chorus directors read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, which also involved audience participation. It was a very unique way to end the carol service and was definitely "great craic!"
St. Patrick's Cathedral had some events as well, but I've missed most of them. However, I am planning to attend Christmas morning mass there, so I'm excited about that. Will update with other Christmas photos soon.
As the Irish say, Happy Christmas! In gaelic, Nollaig Shona Duit!
Christmas Pudding
The day before Christmas Commons, I attended "Carols at Christ Church" - this was absolutely beautiful and a lot of fun or, as they say here, "great craic" - which, as I've previously explained to Greg and Kathy, is pronounced "great crack"...! Juliette had recommended this to me and I almost didn't go, but I'm so glad I did now. I got there about 45 min early and got 3rd row seats, which was great. I sat next to an older gentleman whose daughter was in the Girls' Choir; it was really cute to see him so proud of his daughter. He told me during the intermission that the choir commitment is 5 days per week! 3 weekdays and Sat/Sun. He said she leaves school at 3pm to arrive at choir practice by 4pm.
Christ Church Cathedral Choir
Christ Church is a beautiful 11th C. medieval cathedral. It's said to be the oldest building in Dublin. There is so much history, great architecture as well as the crypt downstairs. I had been here in 2007 as a tourist, but now it was kinda neat to be back for a community event. The compère (what we would call the master of ceremonies) was really fun and got the audience involved in certain songs. The evening consisted of 2 choirs: The Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral Girls' Choir. I was truly in awe at their talents. The soloists gave me shivers. Their rendition of Silent Night, also with soloists mixed in, was splendid... I wanted them to sing it again! The first half closed with a soloist performing Oh Holy Night, one of my fave Christmas songs... the woman was absolutely amazing, I definitely had chills. The second half was much more lighthearted, starting with Good King Wenceslas (I always think of the funny scene in Love Actually when Hugh Grant's driver starts singing this song...), then We Three Kings, Jingle Bells, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...and then ... Santa arrived! Santa (aka the compère) got the audience singing Happy Birthday to the Archbishop and the Dean, then explained to us how we would all participate in and sing the 12 Days of Christmas together. Certain program leaflets were marked with various #s or words, which meant you were a lucky recipient of various musical objects, such as a whistle, bells, rattle, french horn, etc. If you had an instrument, you were to sound it when your Day of Christmas came up in the song! The Five Golden Rings did not have an instrument, but instead we were to all stand up and turn in a circle each time. After that, one of the chorus directors read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, which also involved audience participation. It was a very unique way to end the carol service and was definitely "great craic!"
St. Patrick's Cathedral had some events as well, but I've missed most of them. However, I am planning to attend Christmas morning mass there, so I'm excited about that. Will update with other Christmas photos soon.
As the Irish say, Happy Christmas! In gaelic, Nollaig Shona Duit!
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