Lichfield Cathedral at Christmas 2026: Nine Lessons and Carols at 6pm on 23 and 24 December, crib services at 1.30pm and 3pm, and Midnight Mass at 11pm.

Lichfield Cathedral has published its whole Advent and Christmas calendar for 2026. The two services most people ask about are the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at 6pm on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, and Midnight Mass at 11pm on Christmas Eve. The children’s crib service is held twice this year, at 1.30pm and 3pm on Christmas Eve.

The Cathedral says no booking is needed unless it states otherwise, so the services are walk-in. Two of the concerts are ticketed, and one of them has stopped selling on the door. Everything below comes from the Cathedral’s Advent and Christmas page and its week-by-week calendar, read on 12 October 2026.

The quick answer

  • Nine Lessons and Carols: 6pm, Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, sung by the Cathedral Choir. No booking.
  • Christmas Eve crib services: 1.30pm and 3pm, for children, in Nativity costume if they like.
  • Midnight Mass: 11pm on Christmas Eve.
  • Christmas Day: Choral Eucharist at 10.30am, with the Bishop of Lichfield preaching. The Cathedral is open for services only.
  • Carols for All on 10 December is fully ticketed, with no admission on the door.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Day Time Service
Wed 23 Dec 6pm Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Thu 24 Dec 1.30pm and 3pm Crib Service (children’s nativity)
Thu 24 Dec 5.30pm Evening Prayer
Thu 24 Dec 6pm Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Thu 24 Dec 11pm Midnight Mass: First Eucharist of Christmas
Fri 25 Dec 7.40am and 8am Morning Prayer, then Holy Communion
Fri 25 Dec 10.30am Choral Eucharist for Christmas Day
Fri 25 Dec 3.30pm Evening Prayer with Carols around the Crib

Christmas Eve has restrictions. The Cathedral is open for sightseeing from 10am to 12.30pm only. For the crib services it says bag searches will be in operation and there will be no vehicle access to the Close, so plan to walk in from the city centre.

The crib service is the Cathedral’s children’s nativity, held twice this year “so even more families can join in”. Children are invited to come dressed as their favourite character from the Nativity story.

Christmas Day opens for services only, with no sightseeing. The 10.30am Choral Eucharist is led by the Dean, the Bishop of Lichfield gives the sermon and the Cathedral Choir sings.

Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December): sightseeing from 10am to 3.30pm, Morning Prayer at 9am and a Eucharist at 12.30pm. The Advent page lists Evening Prayer with Carols around the Crib at 4.30pm, while the week calendar shows Evening Prayer at 5.30pm, so check on the day.

Advent: the carol services and concerts before Christmas

  • Advent Carol Service: From Darkness to Light, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, 6pm. The service starts in darkness and the Cathedral is gradually lit by thousands of candles as the first Advent candle is carried in procession. On the Sunday the quire gates close at 2.30pm, restricting access to the east end.
  • Christmas Tree Festival, Wednesday 2 December to Sunday 3 January, in visitor opening hours. Real trees decorated by local businesses, schools and charities. It closes during services.
  • Christmas Light Service, Sunday 6 December, 3.30pm. A short all-ages service that starts inside and moves outside to light the Christmas tree. Bring a battery lantern; no candles.
  • The City of Lichfield Concert Band: Christmas Concert, Sunday 6 December, 7pm, with The Snowman, Sleigh Ride and carols. Ticketed through the Cathedral box office, with no concessions; proceeds support the Cathedral.
  • Dementia-Friendly Christmas Service, Thursday 10 December, 10.45am, listed in the Cathedral’s calendar alongside its year-round dementia-friendly services.
  • Carols for All, Thursday 10 December, 7.30pm, with Lichfield Cathedral Chorus and the Band of the Salvation Army Cannock Citadel. The Chorus says it has made the concert fully ticketed this year because of new Cathedral requirements, and the Cathedral says there is no admission on the door. Tickets are through the Chorus.
  • Christmas Joy: Carols and Brass, Saturday 19 December, 2pm and 3pm. Carols, readings and a live brass band. It was called Carols around the Tree in earlier years.
  • Lichfield Cathedral Choir: Christmas by Candlelight, Tuesday 22 December, 7.30pm, with Staffordshire Brass. Tickets from £15, and the Cathedral expects it to sell out (Lichfield Cathedral).

The Sunday choral services carry on through Advent too: Choral Evensong at 3.30pm on 13 and 20 December, with the quire gates closing at 2.30pm.

The other Christmas events in the Cathedral

The building is busy with ticketed events that are not services. Ex Cathedra’s Christmas Music by Candlelight is on Friday 4 December at 7pm. KindaDusty Ltd runs candlelit tribute nights on 5, 11, 12 and 14 December. And from 15 to 21 December the Cathedral’s Follow the Star light show takes over the Close in the evenings, with visitor hours cut to 10am to 3.30pm on those days. Prices and slots are on our Cathedral light show page.

After Christmas

  • Fun and Faith: Follow the Star, Wednesday 30 December, 11am. An interactive session for families. Children are invited to bring a gift for the baby Jesus, which the Cathedral donates to the Pathway Project.
  • Epiphany, Sunday 3 January: Solemn Choral Eucharist at 10.30am, Choral Evensong at 3.30pm and the Epiphany Carol Service at 6pm.

Getting there and parking

The Cathedral is in The Close, WS13 7LD, a few minutes’ walk from Market Square. There is no public parking in the Close, and on Christmas Eve the Cathedral says there will be no vehicle access at all. Our parking in Lichfield page has the city car parks and tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page carries any closures. If you are travelling by train over the holiday, see Lichfield Christmas trains: there are no trains on Christmas Day, and on Christmas Eve the Cross-City line to Birmingham does not run, with replacement buses instead, because Birmingham New Street is closed for engineering work.

Sources