Category Archives: Christmas

A week of Carol Concerts at St Helen’s Church

This week, St Helen’s Church has been a hub of activity as local schools bring in large groups of students for their Carol Concerts. These gatherings attract up to 700 young people at a time, filling the church with all the additional chairs.

The services are primarily led by the schools’ own chaplains or teachers and St Helen’s staff play a supportive role. The majority of the organisational work, including managing the large groups of children, is handled by the school staff. On Monday was the Abingdon Prep School Carol Concert; on Tuesday Our Lady’s Abingdon Carol Concerts (there were two); today, Thursday, the Manor Prep School has a day of Concerts; and tomorrow is the Abingdon School Carol Service.

It will then be the end of term for all these schools, which are not in the state sector. The state schools have another week to go. Their carol concerts are next week.

One unique aspect of St Helen’s preparations is the Jesse Tree, a Christmas tree that depicts the lineage of Jesus Christ. Each day, additional figures are added to the tree.

An Arcadian Christmas Concert is at St Helens Church on Saturday. The Arcadian Singers are a student-run chamber choir based in Oxford.

Festive Yarn Bombing at St Helen’s Wharf

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During the first week of December, the row of bollards along St Helen’s Wharf in Abingdon was decorated with crochet covers. The robin and Christmas pudding designs alternate. Last year there were just Christmas Puddings and half of those have reappeared for the second year joined by well rounded robins.

Somebody’s hard work has brought festive cheer to this picturesque spot by the Thames.

Snowflakes on Walls and Stars Beneath Our Feet

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Rain is falling on Abingdon High Street, reflecting the lights.

Overhead, white and blue Christmas lights make icy patterns. Bar windows have a warmer glow. The festive lights brighten what would have been a bleak evening 21 days before Christmas.

Most of the lights in Abingdon town centre are provided by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council. The candles around the Market Place have been here for almost twenty years, but this year they have been fitted with orange flames.

The modern Christmas tree sculpture, made of a frame with white and blue LED lights, was added last year.

What is new this year is the projection of turning white snowflakes against what is usually a featureless brick wall beside the junction at the bottom of Stratton Way.

Not that projections are new to Abingdon. The other provider of lights is the Bury Street Shopping Centre who do their own. They project stars onto the precinct pavement.

The lights make Abingdon a little brighter. With just 33 days until Twelfth Night, there’s time to enjoy.

Abingdon’s Christmas Extravaganza – 2024

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The day began with the Bath Street Christmas Market, featuring crafts, charity stalls, foods, and gifts. Meanwhile, in the Bath Street Performing Area, the Abbey Brass Band added to the atmosphere by playing Christmas Carols.

On the Market Place stage, there were performances from the Abingdon Dance & Fitness Studio, the Marion Flanagan School of Irish Dance, the Amanda Alder Dance Academy, the Strawberry Fayre Majorettes, and the Abingdon Rock Choir.

The Community Shop at 24 Bury Street, run by Girlguiding Abingdon, provided a space for Christmas crafts.

At noon, the parade marched through Abingdon’s town centre led by the Oxford Caledonian Pipe & Drum Band. The parade also contained the other performing groups (mentioned above),

the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers,

The Mayor (Councillor Gabby Barody) and Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council,

and Father Christmas thanks to Abingdon Lions. He went on to sit in his grotto where there was a long queue to see him.

It was a mild and sometimes sunny day but Acreedo Tattoos provided a little snow with the help of a machine.

There was more snow and a reindeer at The Book Store. Next Saturday they have a book signing with Pam Ayres and her book ‘Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems.’

As the sun set, the crowd watched FREE 4 ALL.

At some time before 6:00 PM the lights were switched-on. I wasn’t there for the actual switch on but got there soon after. I expect Duncan Brown, the MC, did the usual count down 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and everybody cheered.