09.00am
FREE
Discover more about the Christmas story by exploring the activity stops hidden around the Minster.
Follow a trail with items to look at, touch, smell and discuss at each stop.
Free with admission, collect your trail from the admission desks. No need to book.
York Minster
7.30pm
FREE
7.30pm (doors open at 7pm)
An atmospheric, candlelit procession and carol service for all the family based on the traditional Swedish Lucia celebration.
In Sweden, Lucia is one of the most significant traditions in the calendar – a powerful symbol and celebration of light and an integral part of the Advent season.
The celebration of Sankta Lucia is based on the bravery and martyrdom of a young Sicilian girl – St Lucy – who died in the early fourth century. Her name and story reached Sweden along with Christianity, and she remained popular even after the Reformation as the bringer of light during the long darkness of winter.
The Lucia procession enters singing the traditional Lucia song, the tune of which was brought to Sweden from Italy in the middle of the 19th century. The singers are dressed in white gowns and carry candles, with Lucia herself as the focal point, wearing a crown of candles and a red ribbon round her waist, symbolising her martyrdom. The ‘starboys’ go back to a tradition of re-enacting the journey of the Magi on Twelfth Night.
The service is run in partnership with the York Anglo-Scandinavian Society.
No booking is required but please arrive early as this is a popular service.
York Explore Library :
Thu 7 Dec :
6.30pm – 8.00pm :
Free
Tim will be talking about the real life wartime story of amazing heroism that inspired ‘The Nazi’s Daughter’, as well as the murky story of Dutch Nazis who collaborated with the Germans. He will also explain how Audrey Hepburn made it into the novel!
The Netherlands, Spring 1943. When her glittering career as a ballerina is cut short by a dancing injury, Elise Van Thooft-Noman, rebellious daughter of a powerful Dutch Nazi, flees to an isolated island off the coast of Holland. Here she meets Pieter Goedhart, reluctant village schoolmaster and Resistance fighter. A dangerous affair is kindled between them. Meanwhile Elise’s Nazi family and the terrifying brutality of war are closing in, threatening to destroy all she holds dear . . .
New York, September 2008. Uncomfortably overweight, single and scraping thirty, Jenni Malarkey is summoned to a mysterious party to celebrate her estranged grandmother’s glamorous life. Her journey through Elise’s secret history will force her to confront a legacy of guilt and shame . .
Past and present intersect, as unlikely hearts connect to seek love and redemption, in this haunting time-shift novel set in wartime Holland and contemporary New York.
Tim Murgatroyd was brought up in Yorkshire. He read English at Hertford College, Oxford University, and now lives with his family in York. His first novel, ‘Taming Poison Dragons‘ set in 12th Century China, has been described as ‘a captivatingly original and unforgettable story of tragedy and enduring love’. The sequels, ‘Breaking Bamboo‘, and ‘The Mandate of Heaven‘ have now been translated into Chinese by the prestigious Shanghai Literature and Arts publishing house.
Tim’s latest novel, ‘The Nazi’s Daughter’, is a haunting time-shift novel set in World War 2 and contemporary New York.
Tim has also published three e-booklets of poetry in a series called ‘Poems for Mobiles’: ‘Lullaby’, ‘Drunk’ and ‘The Stars are Apples’.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase on the night with complimentary drink, cash only.
To book tickets please click here.
Tue 5 Dec :
6.30pm – 8.00pm :
Free
Helen Cadbury’s Forever, Now charts the lives of extraordinary, ordinary humans, including the poet herself; but also those she has lived among, worked with, observed on buses and trains or discovered in the archives. Sometimes those true beginnings spiral into fiction, sometimes they remain autobiographical, as they tell moving and universal stories of love and loss, grief and new beginnings.
Emily Dickinson wrote that ‘forever is composed of nows’. This collection will affirm the sense that ‘now’ is the only thing we truly have – and reveal it as something to be celebrated and acknowledged, not least in this remarkable book, which offers Helen’s devoted readership a chance to discover the full breadth of her compassion for characters, and talent for telling their stories.
“Helen Cadbury’s uniquely feisty, tender, courageous voice comes across loud and clear in this outstanding collection. I loved it; from the ‘heaven’ of the British Library to that closing image of the poet dancing in her kitchen.” — Carole Bromley
To book tickets please click here.
For further information please call York Explore Library on (01904) 552828 or email york@exploreyork.org.uk
Advent Procession
FREE
An atmospheric and breath-taking candlelit service of music, readings and prayers for Advent in celebration and anticipation of the arrival of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.
The service starts in darkness with candlelight gradually spreading throughout the cathedral as the flame is passed from one person to the next following the York Minster Choir’s journey from West to East.
Everyone is welcome to attend the popular service, with doors opening at 4.15pm. The service lasts for just over an hour.
This service will be full to capacity so please arrive early. Seats are unreserved and are on a first come first serve basis. You do not need a ticket to attend this service.
16:00
FREE
York Minster prepares for Advent with its annual Evensong performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s popular Cantata 140, ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’ (Sleepers, wake).
This is a FREE service
