What is Nine Lessons and Carols?
[[File:Kings College Chapel-IMG 3962.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Adoration of the Magi'' (1634) by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]. This painting shows the Three Wise Men visiting the baby Jesus. The painting hangs behind the [[altar]] in [[King's College Chapel, Cambridge]].]] The Festival of '''Nine Lessons and Carols''' is a form of church service used at [[Christmas]] in the [[Anglican Church]]. There are nine lessons (readings) and between each reading there is a [[carol]] sung, either by the [[choir]] on its own or by the whole [[congregation]]. The story is told from the beginning of the [[Bible]] in which [[Adam]] disobeys God, to the coming of the baby [[Jesus]]. The form of the service was started by Edward White Benson who was [[Bishop]] of [[Truro]] in [[Cornwall]], for use on [[Christmas Eve]] (24 December) 1880. The service is now used by other churches all over the world, not just in [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] churches, but also in some [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] and [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches. In the UK, the service has become the standard form for schools' Christmas carol services. The best-known Nine Lessons and Carols service is the one held in [[King's College, Cambridge]] every Christmas. The choir carols are sung by the famous [[Choir]]. This service has been broadcast by the [[BBC]] for more than half a century. ==Service at King's College, Cambridge== [[File:King's College Chapel.jpg|thumb|left|[[King's College Chapel, Cambridge|King's College Chapel]]]] The first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at [[King's College, Cambridge]], was held on [[Christmas Eve]] in 1918. The music at the first service was directed by Arthur Henry Mann, who was the [[pipe organ|organist]] from 1876 to 1929. The choir had 16 [[treble (singer)|trebles]] which was the number that [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] said there must be when he founded the college. Until 1927 the men in the choir were [[choral scholar]]s and [[lay clerk]]s. Today, 14 [[undergraduate]]s from the [[Choir of King's