Director of Campus Music Activities Hugh Hinton urged the 200-plus students, faculty and college neighbors who filled the Rogers Center for the Arts theater to treat the event as a liturgical celebration rather than a concert. Each round of the nine biblical passages and carols closed with a prayer.
The Festival of Lessons and Carols was established in England in the 19th century and is now a worldwide phenomenan, Hinton said. They are especially popular at academic institutions.
“It’s a wonderful tradition that we are trying to get established here,” Hinton said. “We are delighted to offer this to the Merrimack community as well as our Merrimack Valley neighbors.”