Guestling Bradshaw CE Primary School

Back in 1747, in Germany, Bishop Johannes de Watteville thought about how he could explain the love of Jesus to everyone, and what Christmas really meant to the children in the church. He decided to make a simple symbol to express the message of Christmas in a fresh and lively way. Pastor Johannes de Watteville gave each child a lighted candle wrapped in a red ribbon, with a prayer that said "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these dear children's hearts". This was the first Christingle service.

Many years later, in 1968, John Pensom of The Children's Society introduced Christingle services to the Anglican Church, where the custom spread quickly. Every year thousands of churches now hold special Christingle services or celebrations between Advent and Candlemas.

The symbolism gradually developed and today the Christingle consists of an orange, with the candle inserted in the centre and lit to represent Jesus, the Light of the World. Christingle means "Christ-Light."

The candle used to be held on a goose quill, part of which was split into fronds, on which were impaled nuts, fruits, raisins and sweets. These stood for the created order over which Christ is King, and for the fruits of the earth and the benefits that come to our lives through God's bounty and goodness. Today the fruit is usually slid onto cocktail sticks stuck into the orange, the wood still being part of God's created order.

Many years ago, children were asked to take a gift to put beside the crib in church. One family had no money for gifts but were determined to take something. They found an orange which they felt would be okay, but were disappointed to find it was going mouldy at the top. However, they thought they would scoop out the bad bits and put a candle in the top and turn it into a lantern. Thinking that it looked a bit ordinary, one of the girls took a red ribbon from her hair and tied it around the middle. They had difficulty getting it to stay in place, so fastened it with four small sticks, on the ends of which they put a few raisins. They took their lantern to church and were afraid of the reactions of the other children. However, the priest acknowledged their gift and told the congregation how special it was for the following reasons:

The orange is round like the world.

The candle stands tall and straight and gives light in the dark like the love of God.

The red ribbon goes all around the 'world' and is a symbol of the blood Jesus shed when he died for us.

The four sticks point in all directions and symbolise North, South, East and West - they also represent the four seasons.

The fruit and nuts (or sweets) represent the fruits of the earth, nurtured by the sunshine and the rain.

When children are all excited about nativity plays, gifts and shopping, Santa Claus and parties, the Christingle service is a lovely way to remind them of the bigger picture of who this new baby Jesus is and what he came to do. The simple candle service that John de Watteville introduced showed children then, as it does now, that through the gift of a lighted candle we can remember that this baby Jesus brought light into darkness.

For over 40 years, The Children’s Society Christingle has been a key part of celebrations within churches, with the candlelit services now a firm favourite with supporters of all ages.

With your support they hope to make this year’s Christingle bigger and brighter, raising essential funds to support their work with vulnerable children living in poverty in this country.

Click here to visit their website to find out more.

The first Christingle service was created on 20th December 1749 and it is now often held either the last Sunday before Christmas or on Christmas Eve.