Jerusalem
On
the December page of our extremely fine Church calendar for 2005 is a photograph
of a Christingle service. This service is usually held
on Christmas Eve as a celebration by children of the Christ child.. It entails
the children being given an orange, wrapped around with red ribbon, stuck with
sweet-bearing sticks and a candle that is lit at the appropriate moment when
the
lights in the church are put out. It is believed to be the most popular of
children's services in Britain and has been adopted across the denominations
of
the Christian faith. But what is Christingle and from where did it come?
Christingle means Christ Light
and is a symbol of the
Christian faith. It comes from the Moravian Church and it is believed that
it was first used in a Christmas children's festival in a service on 24th December
1747 in Germany, conducted by Bishop John de Watteville. It is not certain
when
the word Christingle was first used or from what it is derived. During the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in their period of great outreach, the
Moravians brought the custom of the Christingle with them to Britain. It was
the
Moravians that John Wesley encountered on his voyage to Georgia in 1735–36
and on his return he and Charles became affiliated with them, working with
them
until 1740 when Methodism and Moravianism went their separate ways.
The symbolism of the Christingle gradually developed and today it consists of the orange which represents the world and the candle inserted in the centre; Christ the light of the world. Originally goose quills were used to bear impaled nuts, raisins, fruits and sweets. These represented the created order over which Christ reigned and the fruits of the earth and the benefits to our lives through God's bounty and goodness. Today cocktail sticks have replaced goose quills, the wood still being part of God's created order. The red ribbon around the orange, or alternatively a frill of red crepe paper at the base of the candle represents Christ's passion. At the climax of the service each child receives a lighted Christingle, and in the darkened Church it becomes the symbol of the Christmas message that in the dark world a great light has shone.
The Christingle has been adopted by the charity, the Children's Society. They introduced the service of Christingle to the Church of England in 1968. It means for them the shining of light into the darkness of thousands of children's lives. We are all responsible for the wellbeing of our society's children. On Christmas Eve, at this year's Christingle service, where our children who are loved and cared for will receive their lighted Christingles, perhaps we should remember those children who still live in darkness.
© Fulwood Methodist Church
15:09:58 Wednesday, 26 October 2005
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