Christingle Grinch

[Owwmumo1]

My son’s primary school had a Christingle service last week. Each child was sent home with a candle and instructions for how to make them. I bought oranges, ribbon, cocktail sticks and sweets and spent about 20mins making it whilst he was at school as I was working the night before the service.
Every child took one in for the service. They were lit for about 20 seconds for a prayer. Parents left, kids went back to their classrooms and then all of the Christingles were thrown in the bin.
AIBU to think this is a massive waste of time and money? I hate food waste and there are over 100 children at the school so that’s a lot of waste. Or do I need to chill out?

I don't think the school could have won with this. If they have allowed them to eat them then someone would have found fault with that too - the allergy potential, the cocktail sticks, some parents not supplying them, another kid not being able to peel their own orange etc etc

So yeah, food waste not great but I can see why it seemed preferable to the alternative.

I agree, I've always thought Christingle services are a load of tosh and incredibly wasteful.

I think they're charming and twinkly AF. Shame they only lit them for 20 secs.

I wonder why they couldn't let the kids take them home?

That's such a shame- the whole fun of a Christingle service is eating the orange and sweets afterwards. My choir children love it.

Why didn’t they just bring them home

The religious meaning behind them is beautiful, but you’re right: we’re about to go to a christingle service and watching the waste is sad. Having said that I don’t think my church will ever stop doing christingle, tradition is what it does best.

I love Christingle services. We used to get on trouble for trying to 'cook' the sweets over the candle.
Binning them all is ridiculous though.

Right I'm totally derailing this but...whats a christingle? How is throwing out a candle a waste of food? I understand nothing 😂

It's an orange with a candle in it and then 4 cocktail sticks of sweets. It represents the world and Jesus and the seasons. And a red ribbon round it all.

So did we. Toasting the flumps was the best!

https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/how-you-can-help/fundraise-and-events/christingle/what-is-christingle

I always used to take dc to church for the service on 2 sundays before christmas, then we came home and put up the xmas tree and decorations. It's a really lovely church service for children

Meant to say my DC are late 20s now ,so not that recent a thing, although the last one they went to they had fake battery operated candles which was a safety thing. Prior to that they had 30 or more children parading round the church with lit candles

Ours was usually dolly mixtures. Brown Owl used to get very cross!
Mind you the scouts used to spend half the service stabbing each other with their sticks!

I’ve never heard of that! I presume it’s a Protestant tradition (rather than Catholic)? or perhaps just British? Haven’t heard any of it in any churches in Ireland.

Sounds lovely!

I went to a christingle service yesterday. My christingle is currently burning on the mantle piece. I love the idea of toasting the marshmallows which I put on the cocktail sticks. Off to do that!

Ah I see from the link posted that it’s German

Suggest next time they make them with cloves, not sweets - this preserves the orange and it can be hung up at home as a decoration.

It was originally German, but came to uk in the late 60s

What? Why didn't they give them to the parents to take home? Then they could decide what to do with them.

They probably only lit them for a short while as a bunch of kids with burning candles is a bit risky 😉 why bin them though after all that effort? Why couldn't the children take them home?

.

That's so wasteful! At our school, the kids ate the sweets, those who wanted to ate the oranges, and the remainder were sent to the PTA to be washed and chopped up for the Christmas Fair mulled wine! Zero waste

😂