Christingle Services

[naomi24]

I can handle watching school nativity plays, and if I disregard the ridiculous lyrics, I quite enjoy carol concerts and will join in the singing, but I attended a church Christingle service recently (something imported and relatively new to these shores) and found it quite sickening to see little children being indoctrinated with the concept of ‘the blood of Christ’ encircling the earth. Where once the Christmas message we passed on to children was 'sweet', this is gruesome stuff to pump into innocent minds. Any thoughts?

[Mosaic]

Oh Naomi, the sheer richness of a 1950s catholic upbringing.....
Blood, guilt, tears, agony, race-hate, and ALL MY FAULT.
hey ho.

[anneasquith]

' the blood of christ encircling the earth ' thats a new one on me ?

[naomi24]

It's a new one on a lot of people. As if the church doesn't have enough superstition and ritual, within relatively recent years it decided to import this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christingle

[anneasquith]

seriously naomi, why did you attend the service ?

[naomi24]

Because I was invited and expected to attend. Got a carol service this afternoon.

[flump1]

I would have gone to this service for the experience, I do go to church occasionally to meet my friends and share my out of tune singing with them. I don't believe and I would have found the service Naomi went to , too intense for children.

[jackthehat]

Isn't it strange?
Believers have trouble wrapping their heads around the fact that attendance at a Religious event, by a non-believer will result in, neither,

A) The non-believer crumbling to dust as they cross the threshold, nor,
B) The non-believer loudly harumphing or shouting out "nonsense" at every available opportunity.

I tried thinking about Christingle but got very cross and so I stopped.....:o)

[hc4361]

Children love Christingle and it's a nice story, more relevant to Christians than Santa Claus and Coca Cola.

[tamborine]

Christmas: the first 6 letters describe the celebration. Though I understood it to be a celebration of Christ's birth.

I've never heard of Christingle (comes up as a mis-spelt on 'puter). A church carol service should include the Nativity scene on its altar, minus the babe which is in situ at midnight mass.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Christingle's not new - I remember going as a small child, which you may be assured may be measured in decades.

[naomi24]

Tamborine, this isn't a Nativity service as such.

Waldo, it's relatively new insofar as it's not a long-standing tradition in this country. According to my link, it was introduced here in the late 1960s.

[LazyGun]

New to me, never heard of it before.
And its phrases like this, from your wiki link Naomi, that I find most disturbing
"Pastor Johannes de Watteville gave each child a lighted candle wrapped in a red ribbon, with a prayer that said "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these dear children's hearts""

Bleh!

[LazyGun]

As to whether Christmas is to celebrate jesus' birth - Interesting link here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/20617780

[naomi24]

LG, //And its phrases like this, from your wiki link Naomi, that I find most disturbing

"Pastor Johannes de Watteville gave each child a lighted candle wrapped in a red ribbon, with a prayer that said "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these dear children's hearts""//

That’s exactly my point. I can cope with little ones dressed in someone’s old curtains performing nativity plays, where baby Jesus gets dropped on his head, and where the roman soldier wets himself (as happened in one such performance I witnessed), and where all sing Away in a Manager and Silent Night and get all the words wrong, but I absolutely detest the idea of children being exposed to pathetic rituals engineered by people intent on indoctrinating young minds with the appalling concept of the blood of the innocent spilt on their behalf. I think it’s utterly shameful.

[LazyGun]

@JtH

I think the truly religious confuse atheists with vampires - "thou shalt not cross the threshold or thy blood will boil" kind of thing - or that brandishing a cross at us will instill fear and make us run away, hand-waving styley :)

[WaldoMcFroog]

I can't see that Christingle is markedly worse from teaching kids about Easter.

Don't get me wrong, teaching kids to believe in blood sacrifice is positively backwards, but I can't see that Christingle is especially notable.

[naomi24]

Waldo, I don't say it's worse - just an extra something to connect Christmas to Easter in children's minds in an effort to ensure that the fundamental message is well implanted.

[sandyRoe]

Noblesse oblige must get onerous sometimes.

[vulcan]

And it is well and truly planted, a town near me has been exhibiting pictures created by the local children depicting the Christmas story. I looked at most of them and it's amazing how many have rabbits, chicks, eggs and two of them unbelievably had Christ on the cross !!

[naomi24]

Vulcan, no surprise really.