Hope is hanging by a thread for too many
young people whose lives 
are overshadowed by abuse, exploitation and
neglect.
For many years, The Children’s Society has been intimately linked to Christingle
History of Christingle – meaning 'Christ Light'
Christingles themselves go back to 1747
and the Moravian church in Germany. At a children’s service in Marienborn, the Bishop created a symbol — the Christingle — to explain
the happiness that had come to people through Jesus.
Each element of a Christingle helps to tell the Christian story:
The orange represents the world
The red ribbon (or tape) symbolises the love and blood of Christ
The sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations
The lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in darkness.
Making a Christingle
Fasten a piece of red sticky tape or ribbon around the middle of the orange.
Cut a small cross in the top of each
orange (place it on a tray to catch 
the juice) and lay a square of silver foil
(75mm/3in square) over the cross.
Place a candle on top and wedge it firmly into the orange. The foil will help prevent hot wax running onto a child’s hand.
Load four cocktail sticks with raisins, sultanas, cherries or soft sweets and insert them into the orange around the base of the candle.
Over the last 50 years, Christingle celebrations have raised millions of pounds to support The Children’s Society life-changing work with children and young people.
In 2020, our Christingle celebration was held in an online pre-recorded Christingle service, and 75 diy Christingle kits were distributed, with the actual Christingles made shared via a video call.
In 2019, over 5,000 celebrations were
held across the country raising over £1.2 million. The generosity and support
shown at Christingle services is overwhelming and every year we are reminded of
the compassionate Christinglers that help bring hope to young
people across the country.
£15.8 million was raised in 2019 thanks to our incredible supporters, meaning we continue our life-changing work with young people
11,500 young people and 3,000 parents were supported by our dedicated front line workers across the country
£63 million was secured through our campaigning and policy work for local authorities to support families in crisis