Increased confidence in celebrating Christianity and a backlash against political correctness have led to an upsurge in festive worship at Birmingham Cathedral.
St Philip's Cathedral, in the city centre, has been welcoming 500 to 700 people through its doors for each of the carol services being held in the run up to Christmas.
For the first time, the universities and Birmingham City Council have requested their own carol services at the cathedral this year, said assistant dean Reverend Canon Peter Howell-Jones.
More than 15 carol services will take place at St Philip's before the end of December and the trend has been repeated across the country with cathedrals holding additional services to cope with the growing congregations.
Worshipper numbers nationwide reached more than 130,000 last year in the 24 hours over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, an increase of more than a third since the millennium, according to the Church of England.
Canon Howell-Jones said: "There's a growing confidence to be able to accept the Christian message in the public arena. This is part of our heritage and we should have the confidence to recognise it."
A Labour Party think tank suggested last month that Christmas "should be downgraded to help race relations" but Canon Howell-Jones said: "The people who sit on these think tanks are obviously out of touch. They need to talk to ordinary people on the street to realise that people, including those from other faiths, recognise the distinctiveness of the Christian message at this time of year."
