Nine Lessons and Carols is 22 and 23 December, free but ticketed; Midnight Mass 11pm on 24 December, Christmas Day from 8am. Advent carols 29 November.
St Edmundsbury Cathedral’s Nine Lessons and Carols is on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 December 2026, two services because it is so popular. Tickets are free but you need one. Before that, the cathedral hosts six Christmas concerts in December, from its own choir with the RAF Honington band on Saturday 12 December to candlelit tribute shows from £20.
The quick answer
- Nine Lessons and Carols: Tuesday 22 December at 7pm, and Wednesday 23 December. Free, booked through the cathedral’s Eventbrite; seats are unreserved, and there is overflow seating for people who turn up without a ticket.
- Christmas with the Cathedral Choir: Saturday 12 December, 6pm (doors 5.15pm), with RAF Honington Voluntary Band and carols for all.
- Candlelit concerts on 4, 5, 11, 17 and 19 December, run by outside promoters. The Kinda Dusty shows cost £20 to £50 plus a £4.50 booking fee.
- Christmas Eve and Day: Midnight Mass at 11pm on 24 December; Christmas Day services at 8am, 9am, 10.30am and 3.30pm. Crib services are at 3pm and 4.30pm.
- Advent carols: Sunday 29 November, 5pm, plus civic, emergency services and Longest Night services in December.
Every date here is from the cathedral’s own event listings, checked on 24 October 2026.
Updated 31 October: the Emergency Services Carol Service on Monday 14 December has moved from 5pm to 7pm.
Updated 24 October: Motown Christmas by Candlelight on 17 December has added a 1.45pm afternoon show alongside the 7.30pm one.
Updated 17 October: the cathedral has published its Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services and five more carol and seasonal services, added below.
Nine Lessons and Carols, 22 and 23 December
The cathedral’s service follows the King’s College tradition: nine readings and carols, with people from across Suffolk invited to read one of the lessons. “This service is very popular and as a result, we are holding two services on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 December,” the cathedral says (St Edmundsbury Cathedral). The listing gives 7pm for the Tuesday; it does not yet state the Wednesday time separately.
- Price: free, but ticketed to manage numbers. Book only for people who can go.
- Seating: unreserved on the night, so arrive early for a nave seat.
- No ticket? The Eventbrite listing says that when seats run out, overflow seating for walk-ins is available in the Quire, the North Gallery and the Lady Chapel.
Christmas with the Cathedral Choir, 12 December
The Cathedral Choir and RAF Honington Voluntary Band give an evening of festive music old and new on Saturday 12 December at 6pm, with carols for the audience to sing (St Edmundsbury Cathedral). The booking page gives doors at 5.15pm and a finish at about 8pm. The ticket price was not shown when we checked; the cathedral sells these through Eventbrite.
The concerts in date order
| Date | Concert | Time | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 4 Dec | Christmas by Candlelight: West End singers and a live band | 1.30pm and 7.30pm | £20 to £50 plus £4.50 fee (Kinda Dusty) |
| Sat 5 Dec | Bublé Christmas by Candlelight: tribute act and big band | 6.15pm and 8.30pm | £20 to £50 plus £4.50 fee (Kinda Dusty) |
| Fri 11 Dec | Viennese Christmas Spectacular by Candlelight: Strauss, The Nutcracker | Doors 6.15pm, concert 7pm | London Concertante |
| Sat 12 Dec | Christmas with the Cathedral Choir | 6pm | Eventbrite |
| Thu 17 Dec | Motown Christmas by Candlelight | 1.45pm and 7.30pm | £20 to £50 plus £4.50 fee (Kinda Dusty) |
| Sat 19 Dec | G4 Christmas: carols and festive hits | 7.30pm | Ticketbooth |
The Kinda Dusty price bands are the same for all three of its shows: £50 for the front three rows, £45 premium, £40 band A, £30 for side seats with a restricted view, and £20 for “screen only” seats with no view of the stage. Access tickets are £45 and include a free carer ticket. Seating is first come, first served within the block you buy.
The cathedral is only the venue for the candlelit shows and G4. It asks people not to ring it about those tickets: Kinda Dusty’s box office is boxoffice@kindadusty.co.uk, and G4 handles its own enquiries. G4 also sells meet-and-greet tickets, at 6pm unless it says otherwise.
More carol services
All free, and all at the cathedral, from its own event listings:
| Date | Service | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 29 Nov | Candlelit Advent Carol Service, led by the Cathedral Choir | 5pm |
| Sun 6 Dec | Evensong with the Making of a Chorister Bishop, the medieval St Nicholas tradition | 3.30pm |
| Mon 7 Dec | West Suffolk Civic Carol Service, with the Chair of West Suffolk Council | 7pm |
| Mon 14 Dec | Emergency Services Carol Service | 7pm (moved from 5pm) |
| Sun 20 Dec | Longest Night Service, music and reflection for people who find Christmas hard | 5pm |
| Sun 17 Jan | Candlelit Epiphany Carol Service | 3.30pm |
The Advent season starts that morning too, with the Choral Eucharist for Advent Sunday at 10.30am on 29 November, when the Advent wreath is raised.
Before December
- Christmas Wreath-Making Workshops, Saturday 21 November, 10am to noon or 2pm to 4pm, with florist Bekah of Rose & Rhubarb. Tools, foliage, ribbon and refreshments are included; book on Eventbrite (St Edmundsbury Cathedral).
- Cathedral Christmas Market, 26 to 28 November, 10am to 4.30pm, now £2 entry, with tower tours at 11am each day. Full details on our Christmas markets page.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
The cathedral published its 2026 Christmas services on 16 October.
- Midnight Mass, Thursday 24 December, 11pm: “the First Eucharist of Christmas” (St Edmundsbury Cathedral).
- Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) at 8am, an All Ages Eucharist at 9am, the Christmas Day Festal Eucharist at 10.30am and Evening Prayer at 3.30pm (St Edmundsbury Cathedral).
- Crib services at 3pm and 4.30pm: 30 minutes for families, telling the Christmas story with carols and candle lighting (St Edmundsbury Cathedral). The 2026 listing’s date field currently reads 22 December at 7pm, the same as the Nine Lessons listing, which looks like a copying slip; in 2025 the crib services were on Christmas Eve. We will confirm the day here when the cathedral corrects it.
Getting there and parking
The cathedral is on Angel Hill, IP33 1LS, in the town centre. Our parking page lists the town’s car parks and charges, and the roadworks page has any closures that week.
Pantomime at the Theatre Royal runs through the same weeks: see our panto page.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a ticket for the carol service at St Edmundsbury Cathedral?
For Nine Lessons and Carols, yes: tickets are free, booked through the cathedral’s Eventbrite. If they run out, the cathedral says there is overflow seating for walk-ins in the Quire, North Gallery and Lady Chapel.
When is the Christmas carol concert at St Edmundsbury Cathedral?
Christmas with the Cathedral Choir is on Saturday 12 December 2026 at 6pm, with RAF Honington Voluntary Band.
Are the candlelight concerts run by the cathedral?
No. Christmas by Candlelight, the Bublé, Motown and Viennese shows, and G4 are run by outside promoters who use the cathedral as a venue. Ticket questions go to them.
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