{"id":54538,"date":"2026-09-25T04:23:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T10:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=54538"},"modified":"2026-09-23T13:54:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:54:42","slug":"are-handbells-only-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2026\/09\/are-handbells-only-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Handbells Only for Christmas?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing my series of answering questions about handbells and Latter-day Saints<\/a>, by far, the most common question and reaction I have heard about handbells is whether they are only used at Christmastime; i.e., are they a strictly seasonal instrument?<\/p>\n

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Are Handbells Only for Christmas?<\/h2>\n

The short answer is no. Handbells are a musical instrument that can be used much like a piano, and they are just as versatile.<\/p>\n

Now, I understand why people think this. Most people think about bells primarily around Christmastime. That’s when we sing music about bells, such as “Carol of the Bells,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” or “Ring Out, Wild Bells.” Bells are also a frequent part of the Christmas iconography. Outside of traditional Protestant Churches, most people rarely hear a handbell ensemble perform, especially outside of the Christmas season. Handbell musicians are well aware of this association, since we get the most requests to perform around Christmas, our Christmas concerts have higher attendance, and Christmas albums of handbell music sell more than other handbell albums. Sometimes we lean into that association with Christmas because it is a great opportunity to perform and bring Christmas joy. But a handbell ensemble really is just another instrument, and it can be used to perform any type of music a piano or organ can, at any time you would use a piano or organ.<\/p>\n

After I initially wrote this article, a new issue of the Handbell Musicians of America newsletter, Overtones<\/em>, came out. It included an article by a handbell musician named J.R. Smith on this same subject. He noted, “Mention handbells to someone outside our musical community, and chances are their imagination immediately fills with familiar scenes: a candlelit church on Christmas Eve, musicians ringing an arrangement of ‘Silent Night,’ perhaps a festive concert filled with carols, greenery, and red bows.” Smith believes “handbells are the perfect instrument for Christmas, and we should celebrate it,” but at the same time, “Those of us who know the instrument understand just how incomplete that picture is. Handbells can perform Bach and Beethoven, jazz and pop, hymns and original compositions, contemporary works and music influenced by cultures around the world.” Thus, “We know handbells are not strictly a Christmas instrument. They just happen to be especially popular at Christmas.”<\/p>\n

As a comparison to this, think what might happen if you went up to your local ward organist or a professional organist like Richard Elliott or Linda Margetts at Temple Square and asked them, “Since an organ is a Halloween instrument, what do you do with your time from November through September?” You’ll probably get a confused or incredulous look and maybe some laughter in response. Now, many of us see organs being played year-round in church, concerts, and April general conferences, so you’re more likely to be aware that it’s not limited to Halloween music, while fewer people see handbell music on a regular basis. But as a member of the Bells at Temple Square, I spend anywhere from 3 hours to 30 hours in rehearsals and performances, 48 weeks out of the year<\/strong> (we usually take two weeks off in late June and another two weeks off at the end of December). A Presbyterian handbell ensemble I was in before that was similar, though we did take off more time in the summer months (June through mid-August). Even the performances of handbell music in Latter-day Saint sacrament meetings, while most common at Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas, do happen year-round.<\/p>\n

For some fantastic examples of handbell ensembles performing outside of the Christmas season, you can watch the Bells at Temple Square 2026 summer concert<\/a>, along with other handbell concerts and festivals, such as the Virginia Bronze’s weather-themed concert<\/a> from this June or the Bay View Week of Handbells<\/a> performance from August 2026. Or you could pull up the August 30, 2026 broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word<\/em><\/a>, where the Bells at Temple Square was heavily featured. You could even tune into the Distinctly Bronze West<\/a> concert livestream on October 18, 2026!<\/p>\n