Cathedral carol services boost happiness, says study
by Heather Preston, Premier:
New research has shown that Cathedral Christmas carol concerts can improve people’s mental health.
A survey was conducted at Liverpool Cathedral in 2019 to access the mental well-being of over 1,000 attendees before and after its Christmas carol services.
The study – using the psychometric scale, known as the Oxford Happiness Inventory, found a marked improvement in visitors’ moods at the end of the service compared with the start.
Overall, people demonstrated a significantly higher score at the second test than the first test, suggesting that attendance at the services made the participants happy and had a significant impact on their mental health and well-being.
Rt Rev Dr Sue Jones, Dean of Liverpool told Premier the study was conducted to better understand why people attended services and what positive impact they were having.
She says Christmas events can bring a sense of belonging and nostalgia to visitors: “It brings memories of traditional services and of being part of families going to services in their childhood.
“Carol services seem to remain very popular within the life of churches and cathedrals and attract people who don’t normally come but will come at this time of year and feel that it is their cathedral even if they only come once a year.”
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