The "Christmas Customs: Ringing The Bells" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Christmas Eve in the mid-1950s and I am seated in the choir stalls in St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Big deal for a young boy to be up that late surrounded by candlelight as I walked down the center church aisle singing the opening hymn as a few hundred parishioners watched.  The dark Christmas Star sat high above the altar surrounded by the stained glass windows that were illuminated from lights outside the church.  I can still feel the excitement as I passed pew after pew until it was time to turn right while my walking partner turned left into the waiting choir stalls.  

Choir boys with their fathers in the St. James choir.
My father, Paul, and I are in the back right.

After the 20 or so choir boys entered the choir stalls, the men, many being fathers of the choir boys, filed in behind us on both sides of the altar.  Mr. Frank McConnell, the choir organist and choirmaster, for what seemed like eternity to me, was gliding over the several level keyboard pipe organ with his white vestment's sleeves making him look like an angel in flight.  When the first hymn ended, Reverend Batchelder stood in front of the altar and addressed the congregation.  It was the start of St. James' Christmas Eve service.  I was in the boy's choir for perhaps half a dozen years until my voice changed and I will never forget any of those inspiring Christmas Eve services.  Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about those "good ole' times" as I punch the keys on my MacBook Air.  The Christmas Eve service seemed to be always timed so that when the clock struck midnight, the bells could chime and the final prayer would be offered and we would head back down the aisle, through the lit candles, to the rear of the church where we stood, singing, until the hymn ended and the final blessing was said by Rev. Batchelder.  There were so many exciting parts to that service for a young boy, actually for a person any age, that were neat, but for me it was always the bells that chimed when Rev. Batchelder said, at the stroke of midnight, "It's Christmas Morning, let the bells ring out!!"  

Mr. McConnell at the church organ.

And, boy did Mr. McConnell hit the keys on his organ!  He had a special button among what appeared to be a hundred buttons (found out years later they were called stops) that when he pulled it would make the organ sound like a bell.  After a few minutes of what appeared to be pushing every key on his multi-level keyboard, he would stop and the church service would continue with the blessing.  Bells traditionally have been associated with Christmas for many centuries.  At St. James, as is the same with many Anglican and Catholic churches, Christmas day begins at midnight when the bells are rung in celebration.  Bells go way back to the Victorian times when it was fashionable to go carol singing with small handbells to play the tune of the carol.  Handbell ringing still plays a big part in the service at many churches.  Perhaps the most famous Christmas bells are those in the song "Jingle Bells".  The song was originally known as "One Horse Open Sleigh" and was a Thanksgiving Day song, but soon became associated with Christmas because of its "snowy" lyrics and was sang more at Christmas that Thanksgiving.  And, Jingle Bells was the first song to be broadcast from space when in December of 1965 astronauts Stafford and Schirra called back to the USA that they had spotted a sleigh in space and began to play the song with a harmonica and sleigh bells that they had smuggled onto Gemini 6.  So, enjoy the bells this Christmas.  I know I will as I think back close to 70 years when those bells began Christmas at St. James.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.