Christingle

Christmas traditions · light symbolism · Moravian Church · handmade craft

Glowing orange light. A Christingle is made by putting a lit candle into an orange, which creates a warm, glowing symbol of Jesus being called the Light of the World.

Decorated with treats. The orange is wrapped with a red ribbon and decorated with sweets or dried fruit, making it beautiful to look at during Christmas and Epiphany church services.

Started in Moravia. The Christingle tradition began in the Moravian Church during the 1700s and spread across the United Kingdom as Moravian families moved to new places.

Shared across churches. Members of Moravian churches brought the Christingle tradition to other Christian denominations, so now many different Protestant churches use it in their services.

Helps raise money. In the 1960s, a man named John Pensom used Christingles as a fundraising tool for the Children's Society, helping to collect money for children in need.