Pealing and Tolling

A peal is technically a set of bells, or a change rung on a set of bells, a sort of melody that comes out of ringing tuned bells in a particular sequence. To peal the bells is to play such a sequence on the bells, and is usually done in celebration, of a festival, an accomplishment, or simply out of spontaneous joie de vivre. To toll the bells is to ring the same tone, slowly, in a gesture of mourning and commemoration.