Christingles

One of the Christmas traditions they have here in Britain is making Christingles!  The Children's Society first introduced christingles to The Church of England in 1968 and from then on it was one of the most popular traditions for families and church communities in Britain.

It is supposed to symbolise the Christian Faith.  Here is what all of the things that make up the Christingle symbolize:

The orange - represents the world

The red ribbon - symbolizes the love and blood of Christ

The dried fruits and sweets - symbols of god's creation

The lit candle - symbolizes Jesus, the light of the world

One of the fun things about Christingles is that you can supposedly eat it when you're done. =)  If you want to try to make a christingle it's actually pretty easy!  Here are directions to make the christingles:

1. Take an orange and fasten a piece of red tape or ribbon around the middle.
2. Cut a small cross in the top of the orange and lay a square of silver foil (75 mm/3" square) over it.
3. Place a wax candle on top of the foil and wedge it firmly into the orange (the foil catches the hot wax).
4. Load four tooth picks with raisins, marshmallows, or pretty much whatever you want and insert them around the base of the candle.

So now that you know how to make Christingles, maybe next Christmas you can bring an English tradition into your home. =)