Join us at 4pm on Wednesday 23rd December live on our YouTube channel and our Facebook or watch back after wards at a time to suit you.
We would love to see any Christingle pictures from this year or in the past and see your artwork or colouring (below), email these to ku.gro.hcruhcytinirtylohnull@retsambew or message us on Facebook.
Every year, all across the country, Christingle celebrations bring people together to celebrate light, hope and community. This year may be online but you’ll still be part of a community of people sharing the light of Christ together.
In this celebration there’ll be an opportunity to make your own Christingle, to sing, pray and reflect, sharing in the Christmas message.
What is Christingle?
The Christingle itself is a symbol that tells the story of Christ.
A Christingle celebration is a worship service that includes space for reflection on the meaning of the Christingle. It’s about sharing the light of Christ with each other and taking it out into the world.
Making your Christingle
Please send us any of your pictures either from this year or years gone by, email these to ku.gro.hcruhcytinirtylohnull@retsambew or message us on Facebook.
Below you will find a list of what you could use to take part before or during the service (traditional or 2020 scavenger hunt version), there is also a picture to print, colour and display in your window to share the Christingle message.
Don’t panic if you haven’t got the right ingredients to hand – we’ve got some ideas for making a Christingle from whatever you have below.
A Christingle ‘scavenger hunt’
You can make a Christingle from easy-to-find household items. Your Christingle doesn’t have to be three-dimensional. You could also draw one, make a ‘flat’ representation or use our colour sheet (download and print below).
Find something that can be:
- An orange or something to represent the world: find or draw something round, or something that represents God’s creation to you, e.g. a picture of a beautiful landscape, a collection of stones or shells or feathers.
- The candle: use a birthday candle or any decorative candles you have or find a source of light, e.g. a torch, a lamp.
- The red tape or ribbon: Do you have any red string or wool? What other red items do you have? The red ribbon or tape represents the love of Jesus. What do you have that symbolises love? (e.g. a heart shape, a ring, a special present)
- The cocktail sticks and sweets or fruits: These represent the goodness of God’s creation, and the four seasons. What can you find that means this to you – it could be other foodstuffs or something else entirely, for example your favourite soft toy animal, or a cutting from your favourite plant.
How to make a Christingle
- Take your orange (or smaller fruit or world) and fasten a piece of red sticky tape/ribbon/wool (love) around the middle.
- Cut a small cross in the top of the orange wedge the candle/torch firmly into the orange.
- Load four cocktail sticks with a mixture of dried fruits or sweets so that the points are covered, and insert around the base of the candle or put your four good things at each corner North, South, East and West near your Christingle.
Safety tips
- Wash your hands before handling the fruit and sweets (and keep hand sanitiser away from lit flames).
- Make sure long hair is tied back.
- Supervise children near cocktail sticks (sharp ends!) and lit candles.
- Hold your Christingle upright and away from your body.
- Keep any loose fabrics (scarves etc) away from your lit flame.
- Don’t move around with a lit Christingle.
- Always place your Christingle where you can see it and make sure it won’t fall over. Never leave a lit candle unattended.
- Be careful when you put your candle out as hot wax can burn.
But no matter what you do make sure you have fun!
Join us at 4pm on Wednesday 23rd December live on our YouTube channel and our Facebook or watch back after wards at a time to suit you.
Before this we would love to see any Christingle pictures from this year or in the past and see your artwork or colouring (below), email these to ku.gro.hcruhcytinirtylohnull@retsambew or message us on Facebook.
