Christmas Eve Services
I will be in London over Christmas this year. I have been searching for information about Christmas Eve worship services, but I haven't been able to find anything definitive. I have looked for information on Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, but am open to other suggestions. If anyone knows specifics about where we should go, what time it starts, and if we need to book ahead, I would appreciate your help.
Thank you.
Bren
Washington 10/5/12
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Each of their websites have the information you seek. http://www.westminster-abbey.org/whats-on/christmas-at-westminster-abbey or http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Calendar/month/1_Dec_2012 Have been to St. Paul's for midnight mass. Remember arriving an hour early and there was a queue already. Lovely service. Don't recall pre booking but it's been a few years. St. Martin of the Fields should be considered. http://www.smitf.org/event/parish-carol-service/ Lastly, check out the November issue of Timeout London. You can do so online: http://www.timeout.com/london/ Excellent travel resource. The November issue should list other church services for Christmas Eve worship. Lastly, if you aren't staying in an apartment and preparing your own Christmas feast be certain to pre book somewhere to dine on Christmas day. Will be very quiet in London on Christmas day. Very little open, public transport shut down. Personally, I find the "shutdown" refreshing. The quiet enjoyable. Have spent early Xmas morning watching the Peter Pan Cup race in Hyde Park's Serpentine, then a few hours strolling and people watching. Don't know when you'll be arriving but I suggest trying to see a Panto as well. Much fun and part of a traditional British Christmas. Again, Timeout will have a listing of them.
I don't think you "book" a worship service. For instance, right at Trafalgar Square is the wonderful St. Martin in the Fields church. Their online calendar mentions 3 services at different times on December 24. I didn't check to see what they say about admission and seating.
The thing to remember is that public transport in London shuts down on Christmas so be prepared to walk or take cabs to get around - not sure exactly when the shutdown is, if it's right at midnight or not, but that should be easy to find. I'm sure the folks here are going to be very helpful, but you might also visit the London Forum on tripadvisor.com for more information.
There are also many other small local churches scattered around London which (vitually) all have christmas eve services that are well worth attending. Most of these have notice boards outside with the times of services.
Re the Christmas Eve transport shutdown: Transport for London will likely publish a guide nearer the time (in December), but you can anticipate that the tube, buses, etc. will run a Saturday service all day and then, on the tube, from around 7 or 8 O'clock in the evening train frequency will start to drop. Last tube trains and buses will likely be as for a Sunday and depend on route (and of course which station/stop you use), but very broadly things shut-up either side of midnight. DLR and trams will be similar. There will be no night buses (I expect).
As well as church services, if you are in London by 22 December, for around two weeks up to and including then there will be a series of evening carol concerts at Trafalgar Square (by the Christmas tree). There are several every evening, each led by a different choir raising money for their chosen charity.
I think its clear from the websites already linked, but my reading of them is neither the Abbey nor St Paul's have tickets for Midnight Eucharist, but the Abbey does (issued free) for its afternoon Carol Service, but St Paul's does not. St Martin in the Fields does not use ticketing.
For other Christman Eve services, do you have a particular denomination in mind?
My experience:
We arrived in London on Christmas Eve, 2011 and attended the 7:00 pm Carols by Candlelight program at Royal Albert Hall, which was wonderful (tickets must be purchased ahead of time as it will sell out). Since the tube had stopped running, we walked from the Hall to a local Catholic church for midnight Mass. Mass ended up lasting two full hours, which was a bit too much for my family...two musical programs in a row!
We walked back from the church in Chelsea to our hotel in Belgravia at 2:00 a.m. on Christmas Day. The streets were empty and our family of five felt surprisingly safe.