The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held on Christmas Eve 1918. It was planned by Eric Milner-White, who at the age of thirty-four had just been appointed Dean of King’s College, Cambridge, England. His experience as a military chaplain had convinced him that the Church of England needed more imaginative worship. A revision of the original Order of Service was made in 1919, involving rearrangement of the lessons. But the backbone of the service, the lessons and prayers, has remained virtually unchanged since that date. The service has always begun with the hymn ‘Once in Royal David’s City.’ The lessons themselves are the strength of the service. In the lessons we witness the development of the loving purpose of God seen through the windows and words of the Bible.