CANDLELIGHT SINGING

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30941, 23 December 1965, Page 17

CANDLELIGHT SINGING

Carols On Banks Of The Avon

Christmas Eve carols by candlelight on the banks of the Avon has now become traditional in Christchurch and this year it will be celebrated as usual on the river lawns opposite the Y.M.C.A. near the Hereford street bridge at 9 p.m. First organised by the Y.M.C.A. in 1949, the festival has been held every year since, except in 1963, when a modified version was celebrated indoors. On that occasion four inches of rain fell within a few hours.

Attendances of up to 10,000 have been recorded and this year it is expected that there will be at least 5000. Familiar carols have been chosen and already thousands of programmes and tapers have been prepared. The I music will be provided by the i Salvation Army band and the ; song leader will be the general secretary of the Y.M.C.A. (Mr |R. J. O’Kane). The festival is known throughout New Zealand and far beyond. In an article “Christmas Round the Commonwealth” the English magazine “Sphere” depicted this as a typical New Zealand Christmas celebration. It has a pen wash drawing of the Avon which bears the caption “The spirit in which the season is celebrated is as warm as the climate. Holding candles, the flames of which reflect in the Avon, the people sing carols to the accompaniment of a band.”