Knaresborough will hold its traditional outdoor nativity today followed by a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols.

The nativity, which takes place at 6pm in Market Square, brings the Christmas story to life through readings and drama. It is performed by local people and includes a donkey.

The church service will then be held at St John the Baptist Church at 7pm.

It follows a similar format to the famous Service of Nine Lessons and Carols which has been broadcast live annually from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve afternoon since 1928.

The Knaresborough service, which has taken place on Christmas Eve for more than 50 years, will be held amongst the illuminated splendour of the Christmas Tree festival, which includes about 70 trees individually decorated.

There will be a candlelit procession and music from St John’s Choir, directed by Mark Hunter, as well as traditional festive favourites for all to sing.

St John’s Choir, who enjoyed a successful residency at Salisbury Cathedral last summer, were recently the first choir to perform in the newly restored Chapel at Allerton Castle and will also be singing in York Minster over the weekend after Christmas, as well as in Durham Cathedral, St George’s Chapel Windsor and Westminster Abbey in 2024.

Both events are open to everyone.

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The popular Pateley Bridge Christingle service that has raised money for charity for more than 30 years is returning to the Parish Church of St Cuthbert after a two-year break.

Organiser Joyce Liggin told the Stray Ferret:

“We couldn’t hold our usual Christmas Eve service in 2020 or 2021 because of covid restrictions, but we are back once more on Saturday at 6pm and we hope that as many people as possible attend to help raise more money for The Children’s Society.”

She added:

“The service at St Cuthbert’s, which also includes the blessing of the crib, has been held on Christmas Eve for more than 30 years and is viewed by many local people as the perfect start to the festive season.

“As in previous years, a collection will be taken and all proceeds will go to the society which believes  that every young person deserves a good childhood.”

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Since 1968, Christingle services have been held across the UK to raise money for the charity, which helps vulnerable young people.

The Christingle tradition, like the bringing of an evergreen tree into a house, has its roots in Germany and dates back to the 18th century, when it was introduced by Moravian Bishop Johannes de Watteville.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today called a Harrogate mum backing her campaign to get the world to ring a bell on Christmas Eve.

Mary Beggs-Reid came up with the idea last month and nearly 500,000 people have already signed up to take part.

Today she received a phone call from Mr Johnson, who told her that he will be taking part at 10 Downing Street with his fiancé Carrie Symonds and their young son Wilfred.

Mary planned to travel to London to meet the Prime Minister but the new tier four restrictions in the capital meant a phone call was more suitable.

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The Christmas Eve doorstep jingle asks people to ring a bell or bang a pan at 6pm for two minutes to “spread festive spirit and help Santa’s sleigh fly”.

With her now famous bell in hand, which will soon become a family heirloom, Mary told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s wonderful, I can’t believe we’ve got the Prime Minister involved. Lots of people from Lapland joined last week, it’s going to reach everywhere.

“There will be a wave of bells on Christmas Eve. We will see it coming from New Zealand and that will build up the excitement even more.

“We will just have two minutes for the children when something amazing and magical will happen, I can’t wait.”

Mary’s inspiration for the event came from the film Elf, where residents of New York sing together to power Santa’s sleigh with their Christmas spirit.

With news that the Christmas relaxation of rules has been reduced to just one day, she thinks that there will be a lot of interest on Thursday.

A simple idea to create festive spirit in Harrogate has gone global in just a few days.

Wanting to bring people together at the end of a difficult year, Mary Beggs-Reid came up with the idea for a Christmas Eve Doorstep Jingle last week.

She set up a Facebook group, supported by the Harrogate Mumbler network, to invite local people to ring bells on their doorstep at 6pm on Christmas Eve and even sing a few carols if they wanted.

Within hours, the group was attracting interest from around the world. Less than a week later, it had 160,000 members – and an event sent up on Facebook had 570,000 people interested in taking part.

More groups have also been set up for people in other countries, including Canada, America and Australia, all linking back to Mary’s original idea. She told the Stray Ferret:

“It just blew up over night and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. It’s all from one hub, but there are people around the world doing it at 6pm their time, in their country.

“It’s going to be like a wave across the world – everybody is getting involved. If we pull it off, it will sound fantastic.”

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Mary’s inspiration for the event came from the film Elf, where residents of New York sing together to power Santa’s sleigh with their Christmas spirit. Mary added:

“I thought people might be too embarrassed to sing, so I thought of bell-ringing. All the kids will love it, thinking they are going to fly Santa’s sleigh.”

The Facebook group has become so busy that Mary has enlisted the help of friends to help her organise it. People are sharing their own Christmas traditions and ideas from around the world and discussing how they can make this year special, even if they can’t do what they normally would.

The Facebook group has also become a hub for people to support each other. A buddying system will see anyone feeling lonely receive a message from someone else on Christmas Day, while one group member is working on a Christmas Day quiz to run on Zoom.

Mary and her family will be ringing bells on their doorsteps at 6pm on Christmas Eve.

As well as setting up the event, Mary is working with Sally Haslewood at Harrogate Mumbler to create a sheet of carols which people will be able to download nearer Christmas so they can sing with their neighbours if they want to. There will also be a poster for people to put in their windows, spreading the word about the plans.

Mary hopes people who don’t use social media will find out from their friends and neighbours and will be able to join in – especially those who live alone and may feel particularly isolated at Christmas.

“It’s lovely everyone wants to get involved in it. It’s free, it’s going to make everyone feel much better – it’s giving everyone an escape from the doom and gloom.

“There’s two months to go yet, but whatever tier you’re in, this can’t be cancelled and that’s why people are enjoying it so much.”