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Original poster

a satsuma, a candle, two raisins, a sweet, 4 cocktail sticks and a peanut...what?

62 replies

Kelly1978 · 16/12/2005 16:39

DD went to church today with the school, somethign called a christingle?? Anyway, she has come home with the above items in a bag, and is on about putting the candle in the satsuma, and gluing on the sweet and raisins. She then is supposed to light the candle everyday. I'm totally confused. Any idea what she is on about or what it all means?

OP posts:

Tortington · 16/12/2005 21:01

i didn't think catholics did it - sounds made up

GingerBearingGifts · 16/12/2005 21:12

tonight, DD told me that she was babyjesus and I was Mary and had to look after her. She then proceeded to hop around the bedroom on all fours like a rabbit singing 'Mary had a baby, yes Lord.'

I blame grandad feeding her jelly teddies full of e numbers at tea time.

Nightynight · 16/12/2005 21:15

No, I think it is traditional Norwegian (if Im not imagining that), and got popular in UK in late 70s.

LIZS · 16/12/2005 21:59

NN that would fit, I only remember doing it at about the age of 10 or 11, not before.

We3kingsofOrinocoare · 16/12/2005 22:14

We've got ours on Monday.

DD1 (just 5) came home from school yesterday and announced that she was coming down the stairs in her "white costume with fire hats on" with her friend, and someone said "would you look at those two angels" to which dd1's friend replied "we're not angels, we're candles".

I'm intregued (sp)!!

BudaBabeInAManger · 17/12/2005 06:58

Def not a Catholic thing - I remember that much!

A friend was telling me about her DD and DS. Her DD (4) made a nativivty set with her grandma. They were in the car one day and her DS (2) had teh "Baby Jesus" in his had and a toy saucepan and spoon. He proceeded to put the Baby Jesus in the saucepan to and outraged "You can't cook him - he's the SON OF GOD!" shout from the DD! Sweet I thought!

Enideepmidwinter · 17/12/2005 08:44

at christingle cynicism

my kids love it

peanuts not obligatory (in fact we've never had them before)

toogood · 17/12/2005 09:08

New to mumsnet but thought I could offer some info...

Christingle is a Children's Society fundraiser, is done in CofE churches across the land but comes originally form the Moravian Church. You are supposed to donate money or a gift for a local project, shelter etc in return for your Christingle. It is designed to raise awareness and celebrate the season.

More info at:
www.childrenssociety.org.uk/christingle/2005/landing.html

Does this help?

Nightynight · 17/12/2005 09:21

\link{http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/christingle/2005/landing.html \Christingle link}

whoops how did I manage to remember Moravian as Norwegian?

and why is my active link not working in preview?

geranium · 17/12/2005 10:28

Never heard of this. Certainly didn't happen when I was at school - a moderately religious C of E - or at church as a child. Newly made up to try and appeal to children? Not sure about the name at all.

geranium · 17/12/2005 10:29

and why can't we just stick to the bible stories without making up all this new stuff? Surely there is enough going on with the Christmas story without new extras?

Mog · 17/12/2005 12:09

Oh the wonders of mumsnet, when the most innocent of posts can turn into a debate!

Mog · 17/12/2005 12:13

The service is just another way to connect with the real message of Christmas. I personally find nativity plays a bit naff - as if Jesus was just a sweet baby and he was so much more than that. This service gets the most non-church goers coming of any service in the year so it obviously is meaningful on some level to them. Jesus being represented as light goes back to St. John's gospel so it's hardly a new fangled thang.

OhLittleBitShyOfBethlehem · 17/12/2005 14:04

I am so that there is so much cynicism about this.

As the link above shows it has been active in the Uk for about 40 years, so it is not really "new". yes, maybe in comparison to the christmas story, but it hardly something that has suddenly been pulled out of the hat for the sake of commercialism ( santa's grotto anyone?).

I cannot believe the number of people who have never heard of them so assume they are not a tradition, but to be honest, I imagine the people being so cynical are probably the ones who would never see Christmas as anything other than an excuse for a party and some present swapping.

Our church has so many people who regulary come (and new people every year) to these that next year we are probably going to have to do them in two sittings because there simply is not enough room.

Blimey this is my first mn rant, taken me ages to get this irate over anything! why oh why could it not have been over something child related

OhLittleBitShyOfBethlehem · 17/12/2005 14:05

lol budababe!

Original poster

Kelly1978 · 17/12/2005 14:13

Oh, so I wonder if that is why dd has been asking me for a £1 for an xmas decoration. I refused to give it to her! Her school is always askign for money, and I'm trying to draw the line sometimes.

Her school is not supposed to be church, but it is linked to a cofe middle school, and so does seem to put a lot of emphasis on religion. A bit too much for my liking - she also came home with a ten page booklet on the christmas story which must have taken hours to do!

I'm and a bit that I seem to be the only one who has never heard of christingle!

OP posts:

PeachyPlumFairy · 17/12/2005 14:15

The kids love this POlish tradition, our old Church did it and they did it twice (why?) at school this year.

So we have a line of oranges with candles on the window.

As DH says,

ten rotting oranges sitting on the sill...
ten rotting oranges sitting on the sill
We can't let you eat them, in case it makes you ill
Ten rotting oranges siting on the sill

We3kingsofleicestersquare · 17/12/2005 15:14

We had a christingle service last week. The story, so we are told, goes like this.

Two poor polish lads were asked to bring a gift to church. They didn't have much money and placed a candle and four cocktail sticks with dried fruit on, in an orange and tied a red ribbon around it. they were embarrassed by their meagre offering but placed it in front of the alter amongst the other more expensive gifts. People were sniggering and laughing at the boys until the preist picked up the orange and told the congregation that the orange was the best gift offered. The orange represented the world and the candle, God's love shining down. The fruit was the food God gave us and the sticks pointed NSEW the four corners of the earth. The red ribbon was Jesus' blood that he shed for mankind. The priest called it a 'Christingle' and used it every year after that.

appyday · 17/12/2005 16:59

I went to a Christingle service at Lincoln Cathedral about 30 years ago, loved it so much that I shall definately take DD. DH thinks it sounds a little bizarre, but then he is R.C and thought CofE weren't even Christian! LOL

jojomum · 17/12/2005 18:44

My daughter brought home a Christingle from her First Holy Communion lesson last week (we are Catholic). I hadn't heard of it before then.

cat64 · 17/12/2005 21:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

wewishyouaClaryChristmas · 17/12/2005 21:24

also quite surprised at the cynicism about this.
We had christingle services when I was at school (a long time ago I assure you)
We had ours at church at the start of Dec, I love it as a way to launch the Christmas month, all the kids lined up around the church with their oranges.
Told them all about what it meant (as Mog says, all about the light of the world, a very powerful message) and when DD got home she drew a fab picture of herself and a giant chrstingle. bless!

XmasPud · 18/12/2005 12:47

One of my favourite childhood memories is sitting round our large kitchen table at home, along with two or three of my little friends and their mums, table heaped with piles of precut ribbon, bowls and bowls of dolly mixture, jelly tots and raisins, mum?s wicker basket full of sweet smelling oranges, all of us with a different job in the production line of the village "christingle preparation team". It was so much fun, mums drinking mulled wine, the radio blaring out carols, us kids with glasses of lemonade, getting constantly told off for eating all the sweets..
Whenever I see christingles now I get all nostalgic

lunaturkey · 19/12/2005 14:15

i nremember doing this christingle ceromony in a rc church when i was i child - carrying a clove studded orange around the church in a procession of children
so it can be a catholic thing as well - this church had a large italian population so maybe its more of a european thing ?

Original poster

Kelly1978 · 19/12/2005 14:39

cat - I agree, they have to learn about all religions, and that is what I want for my kids. It just seemed that a lot of work went into learning this one story. When diwali came round, they didn't mention it. It doesn't seem a very good balance to me.

OP posts:

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