Chester Cathedral's 2026 Christmas: Lessons and Carols 23 and 24 December at 6pm, Crib Service 3pm and Midnight Mass 11.30pm on Christmas Eve, no tickets.

Chester Cathedral’s Festival of Lessons and Carols is on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December 2026, both at 6pm, and you do not need a ticket. Seats go first come, first served, and the cathedral asks you to be seated 15 minutes before the start. On Christmas Eve the Crib Service is at 3pm and Midnight Mass at 11.30pm; on Christmas morning the Cathedral Eucharist is at 10.30am (Chester Cathedral).

Updated 30 October: the cathedral’s booking system now shows the Carol Concert at £8 to £25, and three more concerts: Vivaldi on 14 December, The Snowman with live orchestra on 21 December and Christmas Crackers on 22 December.

The quick answer

  • Lessons and Carols: Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, 6pm, no tickets, also streamed on the cathedral’s YouTube channel
  • Crib Service: Christmas Eve, 3pm, for all ages, no booking
  • Midnight Mass: Christmas Eve, 11.30pm, sung by the Nave Choir, no booking, also streamed
  • Christmas Day: Cathedral Eucharist at 10.30am, sung by the Cathedral Choir
  • Advent Procession: Sunday 29 November, 6pm, no booking
  • Carol Concert (ticketed): Saturday 12 December, 7.30pm, in the nave, tickets £8 to £25
  • Where: Chester Cathedral, St Werburgh Street, Chester CH1 2DY

Christmas services, 2026

All of these are free and none needs booking. Times are from each service’s own page on the cathedral website, read on 23 October.

Service Date Time Booking
Advent Procession Sunday 29 November 6pm None
Festival of Lessons and Carols Wednesday 23 December 6pm None, first come first served
Crib Service Thursday 24 December 3pm None
Festival of Lessons and Carols Thursday 24 December 6pm None, first come first served
Midnight Mass Thursday 24 December 11.30pm None
Cathedral Eucharist for Christmas Day Friday 25 December 10.30am None

One change from last year. In 2025 the two Lessons and Carols services were on Sunday 21 and Wednesday 24 December. This year the first one moves to Wednesday 23 December, so if you went on the Sunday before Christmas last year, the date has changed (2025 listing). The Christmas Eve and Christmas Day times match 2025’s: Crib Service 3pm, Midnight Mass 11.30pm, Christmas Day Eucharist 10.30am.

The Advent Procession on Sunday 29 November is the service that “moves from darkness to light”, with readings and music sung by the Cathedral Choir (Chester Cathedral).

The Crib Service at 3pm on Christmas Eve is the one for young children: the cathedral describes it as a service “for all ages to welcome the birth of the baby Jesus” (Chester Cathedral).

Midnight Mass is sung by the Nave Choir and streamed on the cathedral’s YouTube channel (Chester Cathedral). On Christmas morning the Eucharist is sung by the Cathedral Choir and the Bishop of Birkenhead presides (Chester Cathedral).

Getting a seat at Lessons and Carols

With no tickets, the services fill on a first come, first served basis. The cathedral asks people to be seated 15 minutes before the 6pm start. It does not publish when the doors open or how many people the nave holds, so if you want a seat, especially on Christmas Eve, aim to arrive well before that. If you cannot get in, both services are streamed live on the cathedral’s YouTube channel.

Christmas concerts at the cathedral

These are ticketed, and most are run by outside promoters, with the cathedral acting as the box office. Prices below are from the cathedral’s booking system on Ticketsolve, checked on 30 October; the cathedral’s own event pages do not show them. Each concert’s page warns that no outside food or drink is allowed and bags may be checked.

Concert Date Time Tickets
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons & The Lark Ascending by Candlelight Friday 13 November 7.30pm at booking
Romanticism, with Braimah Kanneh-Mason and Chester Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday 14 November 7.30pm adults £12 to £23, children and students £7
Whitney Houston by Candlelight Thursday 19 November 7.30pm at booking
Chester Music Society: Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast Saturday 21 November 7.30pm £15 to £30; free for students and under 18s
The Christmas Orchestra Thursday 26 November 7pm and 9.15pm at booking
Christmas by Candlelight Thursday 3 and Friday 4 December 7pm and 9.15pm at booking
Together in Song, for The Joshua Tree Saturday 5 December 7pm (7.30pm on the booking page) adults £15, children 3 to 16 £8, family of four £40
Spirit of the Season, The Hammond Monday 7 December 7.30pm from £14.50 including booking fee
Bublé Christmas by Candlelight Wednesday 9 December 6.45pm and 9pm at booking
Chester Cathedral’s Annual Christmas Carol Concert Saturday 12 December 7.30pm £8, £15, £18 or £25 by seat
Vivaldi Four Seasons at Christmas, by Candlelight Monday 14 December 7.30pm £20 (side aisles, restricted view) to £50 (front rows)
The Snowman, film with live orchestra Monday 21 December 2pm, 4pm and 6.30pm adults £19 to £28; over 65s and under 18s £15 to £24
Chester Music Society Choir: Christmas Crackers Tuesday 22 December 7.30pm £15 (restricted view) to £30

The Annual Christmas Carol Concert on Saturday 12 December is the cathedral’s own, with “traditional and popular words and music for Christmas, from firm favourites to modern and new discoveries” (Chester Cathedral). Unlike Lessons and Carols, it needs a ticket. Last year the cathedral called it its most popular concert of the year, and 2025 tickets included mulled wine and a mince pie on arrival (December 2025 What’s On). For 2026 the booking page says the refectory will be open from 6.30pm to 7.30pm selling drinks, including mulled wine and mince pies, so this year they are to buy rather than included. Seats are priced in four bands, £8, £15, £18 and £25 (Chester Cathedral booking).

The Christmas Orchestra is a 16-piece chamber orchestra playing music from Christmas films, including Home Alone, Elf and Love Actually (Chester Cathedral). Christmas by Candlelight brings West End singers and a live band (Chester Cathedral), and Together in Song combines choirs and local singers to raise money for The Joshua Tree, a charity for families affected by childhood cancer (Chester Cathedral). Spirit of the Season is a carol concert by degree students from The Hammond (Chester Cathedral).

Three later concerts have now been added. The Snowman is screened on a big screen with the score played live by Carrot Productions’ orchestra, three times on Monday 21 December (booking). Vivaldi Four Seasons at Christmas, by Candlelight is on Monday 14 December (booking), and the Chester Music Society Choir’s Christmas Crackers, with the Chester Philharmonic Orchestra and the cathedral’s Saturday Singing Club, is on Tuesday 22 December (booking). The Together in Song listing gives 7pm on the cathedral’s event page and 7.30pm, doors 6pm, on the booking page; plan for 7pm.

While you are there: the Christmas Tree Festival

From Wednesday 25 November to Sunday 3 January more than 80 decorated trees fill the cathedral for its Christmas Tree Festival. Sundays are free with no booking, under 5s are always free, and last entry is 5.30pm (3.30pm between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day). Booking opened by 30 October: adults £6, children aged 6 to 17 £1. Our Christmas Tree Festival page has the details.

Getting there

Chester Cathedral is on St Werburgh Street, CH1 2DY, inside the city walls beside Town Hall Square. Prices for the city car parks and park and ride are on our parking in Chester page. The Christmas market fills Town Hall Square and Northgate Street from 18 November to 22 December, and the council raises security bollards in the city centre for the market season, so check the times on our Christmas market page and roadworks and travel before you drive in. For trains home after an evening service, see our Christmas train times.

More Christmas in Chester

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