Youngsters take part in world's largest unrehearsed Nativity play (From York Press)
Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
Children take part in York Minster's Crib Service
8:18am Tuesday 27th December 2011 in Christmas news
The Nave of York Minster is packed for the Nativity tableau, believed to be the biggest unrehearsed festive tableau in the world
HUNDREDS of youngsters gathered at York Minster on Christmas Eve to perform a Nativity play with a nerve-racking difference – it was completely unrehearsed.
The Minster’s Crib Service saw children from the city and beyond take part in what is believed to be the world’s largest festive tableau to be performed without any prior practice at all.
Led by Canon Jonathan Draper, those involved in the service in the cathedral’s Nave were invited to come dressed as nativity characters, and – after youngsters arrived in previous years in Harry Potter and Spider-Man costumes – almost all of them stuck to the spirit of the Christmas story.
The performance also saw the blessing of the baby Jesus as he took his place in the Minster’s nativity scene.
The Crib Service was one of a range of activities staged at the Minster in the build-up to Christmas. Others included the Christmas Tales event in the St Nicholas Chapel, an opportunity for children to make festive wreaths and angels, and the A Quest For Christmas family trail.
