We had fun making Christingles at a service yesterday and raised some money for the Children’s Society as well. If you enjoyed this, do come along to our crib service this Christmas Eve at 3.30pm – fun for all the family.

The Christingle is a visual and physical symbol which tells the gospel message of the Christmas story through its combined parts. It consists of:

• an orange representing the world;
• a red ribbon around it representing the blood of Jesus;
• soft sweets or dried fruits skewered on cocktail sticks pushed into the
  orange, representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons; and
• a lit candle pushed into the centre of the orange, representing Jesus Christ
  as the light of the world.

If you have a Christingle at home, why not light it and pray this prayer with your children:

Lord Jesus, I stretch out my hands and receive this gift, and I hold it tight
because it is mine.
My Christingle.
Light, fruit, sweets, colour, but so much more precious than this.
I hold in my hands a picture of your love.
I imagine all the other special things I might hold.
Lord Jesus, help me to remember those with little or nothing to hold,
especially other children who don’t have enough to eat or a safe place to live.
Today, as I hold my Christingle and remember you,
I pray that you would make me someone, like you, who will reach out my
opened hands to give and love like you do.
Amen.

Here are some photographs from the service – click on the pictures to enlarge them: