The Bellringers of St Matthews: Merry Christmas!

One of the most distinctive sounds of Christmas, other than the singing of carols, is the soundscape of church bells echoing across town.

The ringing of the bells provides an additional element of magic to the festive season, whether they are beckoning worshippers to a service, or heralding the imminent arrival of Santa Claus.

Christmas is one of the most important, and busiest, periods of the year for the St Matthews Society of Bellringers, based at St Matthew-in-the-city on Federal Street in Auckland. The bells first rang out over the central city over 110 years ago, marking Sunday services each week, as well as marking special occasions such as weddings, funerals, civic services, and of course Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. 

The Bellringers have been busy preparing and practicing, running each of the eight bells in the tower through their paces to ensure that they sound perfect for the thousands of people who will enjoy their symphony this Christmas. The bells of St Matthews rang on Christmas Eve for the carol service and midnight mass, and again for the Christmas Day service at 10am.

The compositions rung by the bell ringers are based upon mathematical algorithms, so teamwork – and a passion for bell ringing – is integral, as is the ability to precisely follow patterns to achieve the rhythms required by each of the bells. The soundscape that is created by the dedicated members of the St Matthews Society of Bellringers truly is nothing short of magical, and if you look very closely up the church tower, you might just catch a glimpse of Santa’s elves helping to ring the bells.

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