Greatest Christmas Carols during the Covid-19 pandemic

Introduction

The study is limited to two Finnish-speaking dioceses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (Helsinki and Oulu), where restrictions due to pandemic were partly different. Research materials have been collected from church musicians within the parishes of the aforementioned dioceses through questionnaires and group discussions.

Before the corona pandemic started in spring 2020, the Greatest Christmas Carols were the most popular music event in Lutheran congregations. The pandemic changed the activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in a decisive way since it was not possible to organize gatherings in parishes in a customary way due to various restrictions and safety instructions. The content and working role of church musicians also changed significantly, especially because of the streaming of the events: the accompanist and live musician became a soloist, whose work was watched on screens at home. This change was particularly evident in the Greatest Christmas Carols -events, which traditionally have had a strong emphasis on singing together.