[Desdemona]

Handel's Messiah is the greatest musical work of all time. Not even King George of England would sit when it was being done and if out side he would remove any hat or headgear he had one as no man may cover his head or sit in the presence of the One True King of Kings.

Ummm, he thought it was over, which is why he stood up. People did the same out of respect for him. Sort of like the seventh inning stretch and President...Taft? Somebody from that period. Anyway, it became tradition.

[SandRat]

What I put down in the reply is what I was taught in Public School, in Sunday School, later in College, and by my British Military Counterparts.