St. Mary’s Choral Society was formed in 1877 to celebrate the Savior’s birth in song. Each year on Christmas Eve, Society members walk door to door along the Burlington streets, singing both familiar and unique carols, some composed especially for the group. This practice has continued uninterrupted since the Society’s inception and is a central Christmas memory for many Burlingtonians. Added to this tradition in the present time are performances at several local retirement facilities, a welcomed spiritual outreach to those who are place bound. The Society also presents carols at St. Mary’s services on the first Sunday after Christmas Day. In 2009 the Society received the Burlington County Freeholders Historic Preservation Award for publication of its 130th anniversary history, one of only ten such award recipients in the county.
Weekly rehearsals begin in late November; and the Society’s singing season concludes in January with a festive Epiphany dinner, a Wassail bowl, and a special ceremony to remember departed members.
Membership is open to men and women, junior membership to boys and girls aged 10 to 16. For more information on this opportunity to enrich the Christmas season, both for others and personally, please contact the Parish Office at (609)386-0902 or email at parishoffice@stmarysburlington.org.
