Christmas.vg

Christingle

Christingles are symbols used in Christmas church services to help children understand the meaning of the Nativity. They were devised by a German pastor in 1747 and introduced to the Anglican Church in 1968 by John Pensom of the Children’s Society. Traditionally, collections are held at Christingle ceremonies to raise money for this charity. The name comes from the prayer that accompanied the objects: “Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these dear children’s hearts”.

You will need:

• an orange (to represent the world)
• a red ribbon (representing the blood of Jesus)
• dolly mixtures and raisins (representing the fruits of the earth and the four season)
• cocktail sticks
• a small white candles (representing Jesus, light of the world)
• clovers (representing Jesus’ thorn crown, his suffering on the Cross and the spices used to embalm him by the two Mary’s)

Christingle Ceremony

Method

1. Wrap the red ribbon around the orange and tie it in a ribbon or seal the ends with wax.
2. Push the candle into the top of the orange – if it is too hard, make two incisions in a cross-section and then try pushing the candle in).
3. Put the dolly mixtures and raisins onto the cocktail sticks, then stick the cocktail sticks into the orange (not all the way around as you will need to hold the orange as well).
4. Cover the rest of the orange in clovers (sometimes leaving a space to hold it).  This will preserve the Christingle until well after Christmas and make it smell nice.