For the first time in 900 years, girls take part in Christmas choir service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London

St. Paul's Cathedral in London set a historical record: for the first time in 900 years, girls took part in the Christmas choir service. The choir included both adult singers and young choristers of both sexes, who performed under the 111-meter dome of the world-famous cathedral, designed by architect Christopher Wren, reports British radio Classic FM.

The decision to include girls in the choir was made back in May 2022, when the management of the cathedral and the school at it announced their intention to "ensure truly equal opportunities for girls and boys in the choir."

"It is a great joy to welcome Lila and Lois to the cathedral community," said Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, referring to the first girls to join the choir.

St Paul's Cathedral has a rich history of hosting important state ceremonies. It was here that the wedding of the current King Charles and Princess Diana took place in 1981, as well as the funerals of former Prime Ministers Winston Churchill in 1965 and Margaret Thatcher in 2013.

It is worth noting that most Anglican cathedrals already have mixed choirs. The first cathedral to introduce an independent girls' choir was Leicester in 1974. And Salisbury Cathedral was the first to give girls equal rights with boys in choral singing in 1991.

According to 2019 data, the number of female choir members in English cathedrals exceeded the number of male choir members, which means fundamental changes in the more than thousand-year-old choral tradition.

As previously reported, Ukrainian News Agency has prepared a selection of traditions and prohibitions for celebrating Christmas adopted in Ukraine.