why do we stand for hadels messiah

[Deleted]

In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice for the audience to stand for this section of the performance. Tradition has it that King George II rose to his feet at this point. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose. Royal protocol has always demanded that whenever the monarch stands, so does everyone in the monarch's presence. Thus, the entire audience stood too, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most popular explanations include:

He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet.
He arrived late to the performance, and the crowd rose when he finally made an appearance.[8]
His gout acted up at that precise moment and he rose to relieve himself.
After an hour of musical performance, he needed to stretch his legs.[9]



does anyone have a better or more accepted explaination

[CQuinn]

I read that his pants were too tight and he stood to adjust them.
Coming from Royalty he couldn't make an obvious adjustment so it took a little time.

[Lenny]

Uhhhh....HE SAT ON A TACK?

[pegleg]

... gas....

[Deleted]

got a bunch of Shecky Greenes here tonight LOL

Heres some wiki stuff on it (didnt see why we're still doing it - but didnt read it closely):

tinyurl.com/ess9j (the wiki one didnt work with underscores & parenthesis)

My guess it became tradition and people just saw their parents do it, so they do it... Kinda like the hand to face gestures that people make in church... (the one that looks like a silent cough) - I dont remember ever being taught to do it, but the older folk used to do it, and eventually we started doing it...