Friday 18th December 2020
Today we held our Virtual Christingle service. This is an opportunity in the darkness of winter to remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Advent, like Christmas, is a time associated with light. It reminds us not just of the baby in a manger but also of the one who died to bring us new life, the risen Christ who will come again to establish a kingdom of everlasting light in which there will be no more darkness to overshadow our lives.
We signed the song about how we wait in darkness, longing for light which comes to us when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday at Christmas but also thinking to when Jesus will come again.
We thought about the meaning behind the Christingle.
The Christingle is a symbol of Christ’s light and love. The Christingle itself is made up of a lighted candle, mounted on an orange, and a red ribbon or tape around the middle of the orange. Four cocktail sticks bearing dried fruit or sweets are also stuck into the orange to signify the four seasons and the fruits of the earth.
Each part of the Christingle represents something.
The Orange represents the beautiful world that God has given to us.
The red ribbon represents Jesus’ blood and his sacrifice to everyone on the planet and shows how much he loves us all.
The 4 cocktail sticks represent the 4 seasons of the year whilst the treats on them represent the fruits of the earth.
The Candle in the centre represents Jesus himself, the light of the world.
The Christingle speaks of the world in which we live, and we pray today for all Christians, that we may be mirrors of the light of Christ in the world; for those who do not know the light of Christ in their lives; for anyone who does not have food, shelter, and clothing.
We finished our Liturgy by signing to ‘O come, O come Emmanuel’.
