What is Christingle?

[Katherine]

Just got a letter from DS school to say that the Christingle Service will take place as part of the Sunday morning service at church in a few weeks time and the children will be making Christingles at school. Help! I was brought up a catholic and have never heard of this before. I don't want to sound stupid at school. Can anyone explain this one to me?

Christingles are usually oranges with candles stuck in them which can then be lit for the children at church. I thought they were usually done at xmas time, but maybe its all year around.

They have sweets and raisins stuck in them too (with cocktail sticks - watch out for spikes!) and a red ribbon round. It's all very symbolic but apart from the candle being "The Light of the World" I can't tell you what they mean, Katherine!

Temptress is right, it is usually done just before Christmas (often as a fund-raiser for the Children's Society) and the little faces always look dead pleased with their Christingles. There are usually carols too but maybe you will sing something else.

There's a hymn which explains it all.....hang on, I'll get a hymn book and write it out for you....got it! The Christingle itself is an orange with a red ribbon round it, a candle in the middle, and four sticks with raisins and sweets on stuck in the top.

Round orange, round orange you serve as a sign
that God made the round world with purpose divine.
The power of love is always the same:
Be glad, give thanks, rejoice in God's name!

Red ribbon, you tell of the bloodshed and pain
which led to forgiveness when Jesus was slain,
The power of love..etc.

Ripe fruits, freely given, this truth you recall,
When God hands our presents they're meant for us all.
The power of love...etc.

Bright candle, the message you carry is clear,
the true light from God found a home with us here.
The power ...etc

Christingle, Christingle, shine out in the night
to kindle among us that marvellous light.
The power...etc.

Don't quite understand it all myself, but there you go - hope this helps!

PS Don't let DS put the thing down while the candle is lit!

Thanks all. Have since found a collecting box for Childrens Society buried in the bottom of school bag. Sounds very touching anyway so I shall persuade DH we should go. DS is really into oranges at the moment so I suspect the hardest bit will be persuading him not to eat it! I suppose doing it after Christmas when we are moving away from all the Christmas Spirit/ Giving thing is not a bad idea - or maybe the head just forgot!

Katherine,

Don't know how much you know about The Childrens Society but I am an employee (soon to be made redundant). Just feel I should alert you to the fact that although they do a lot of fundraising based on their working with runaways they are withdrawing all but a minimal amount of money from this work (hence my redundancy) whilst still fundraising on the back of it. NOt very honest i feel. Also rumours are of a further 15 projects nationally to be closed due to incompetent financial management over last few years. You may decide all the more reason to help them fundraise or that they do not deserve your efforts. Just feel you should know some facts rather than the "spin"!

We always have a Christingle service on Christmas eve at our church and it is a really emotional service (makes me emotional anyway). This year we had a new, much more child friendly vicar and he asked everyone to take a candle and form a circle around the inside of the church, then we sang carols in the candle light. After the service its home to put the stockings up and off to bed to wait for the big man's arrival.

Sam29, so sorry to hear about your redundancy - I do hope that at least the withdrawal from projects etc means that they are consolidating what they will be doing in future, and that they have got rid of the incompetents responsible for the financial problems, and not just the foot soldiers like you.

I didn't know anything about what they did anyway - just the name of the charity and the fact that the C of E seemed to be endorsing them made me assume that they were OK. (Wrong!)

Hope you get another job soon!

hope i did not come across as too bitter! the Childrens Society does do some really good work which is why it is all the more frustrating when senior management screw up and it is the projects, children and young people who suffer. ho hum. Maternity leave and redundancy all in one go, havn't worked out if that is a good or bad thing yet!

Sam29 thanks for the info. I've had a bitter experience myself in the past working for a church charity that turned out to be totally corrupt. Loads of good people worked hard to expose it but because it had the churches backing it survuved so have to admit to being a bit wary of all charity things since. I have to admit I was more concerned with the fun that DS would have and the admosphere of the church although we are not church goers. Have discussed it with DH and decided that perhaps we will give it a miss this time as we have family over that weekend as well. Still not sure why it is happening now when everyone else associated it with christmas anyway