King's College Carols

Don't forget that on BBC 2 at 6.15pm tonight you can enjoy the most sublime celebration of Christmas from The Chapel of King's College Cambridge.

The story of the Nativity is told in the familiar words of the King James Bible, along with Christmas poems by Cecil Day Lewis and Ted Hughes.

The famous chapel choir sing carols old and new, including favourites such as O Holy Night, The Sussex Carol, We Three Kings, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen and O Come, All Ye Faithful.

Carols from King's

They are as traditional as mince pies and Christmas pudding and they're on in about 15 minutes.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is the Christmas Eve service held in King's College Chapel. The Festival was introduced in 1918 to bring a more imaginative approach to worship. It was first broadcast in 1928 and is now broadcast to millions of people around the world.

This evening the chapel choir from King's College, Cambridge, under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, sings carols old and new in Gothic splendour, everything from God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen to O Come All Ye Faithful. There is also the story of the Nativity and poetry readings from the likes of T S Eliot.