A Christingle is a symbolic object, used in the Advent services of many Christian denominations. Christingle means ‘Christ Light’ and is used to celebrate Jesus Christ as the “Light of the World”. Used primarily for Advent and Christmas, it is also used for Epiphany.
The history of the Christingle can be traced back to John de Watteville, who started the tradition in Germany in 1747. At that time it was just a ribbon wrapped around a candle.
The authentic origins of the Christingle can be found on the website of the Moravian Church in the British Province: http://www.moravian.org.uk/index.php/the-moravian-church/moravian-christingle
It was popularised in the United Kingdom by John Pensom in 1968. He was raising funds for the Children’s Society charity. In the 2000s over 5,000 Christingle services were being held in the UK every year.
Construction of a Christingle.
A Christingle usually consists of:
An orange, representing the world,
A red ribbon wrapped around it, or a paper frill around the candle, representing the blood of Christ,
Dried fruits and/or sweets skewered on cocktail sticks pushed into the orange, representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons.
A candle pushed into the centre of the orange, and then lit, representing Jesus Christ as Light of the World.
Aluminum foil, representing the metal nails driven into Christ’s hands and feet during his crucifixion.
Recent Developments
We light the candles in the Christingles on tables in the chancel area of the church as a safety precaution and use this as a display of light for only a short period of time. The candles are blown out and replaced with glow sticks before the Christingles are given to children.
The Christingle service is supported by the National Children’s Society and the church collection is given to the Children’s Society to support their work with children in the United Kingdom and abroad.
The service is an All Age Service and anyone can attend. The service lasts approximately 1 hour.
Please invite your family and friends along to this service as you prepare for the Christmas festivities. It is a service not to be missed!
24th December – Sunday 5.00pm – Christingle Family Service at St Cuthbert’s Church Family Christmas Service Christingle celebrations include songs, prayers and the lighting of the Christingle candles stuck into oranges and decorated with small sweets and which can be taken home. Children are invited to dress up as Mary, Joseph, an angel, a shepherd or even one of the three wise men. The collection will help support work at The Children’s Society, so that we can keep working with some of the country’s most disadvantaged children.
