Christingle

A devotional object used at children's services during Advent or Christmas Eve: an orange representing the world, a lit candle for Christ as the light of the world, a red ribbon symbolizing his blood, and dried fruits or sweets on cocktail sticks representing the fruits of the earth. Originated in 1747 as a candle tied with a red ribbon only; the orange and food elements were added later by British Moravian congregations before the custom spread widely via the Church of England from 1968. The custom passed through Moravian congregations in Britain, where the orange and other elements were added. On 7 December 1968, John Pensom of the Children's Society organized the first Christingle service outside the Moravian tradition at Lincoln Cathedral — expecting 300 but drawing c.1,500 attendees — as an Advent fundraising vehicle. The Children's Society rapidly expanded it across Church of England parishes; by the mid-1970s it was a standard Anglican Advent/Christmas-Eve service, and subsequently spread to other Protestant denominations across the English-speaking world.