A Churchwarden writes: We've done purple lights, now a giant orange…

"Who would like to wear the big Orange costume for Christingle?"

Once again, the St Mary's weekly team meeting is shocked into silence.

Spoiler alert, it won't be the Vicar who takes on the mantle this year, nor one of our Churchwarden team, Terry, who seems ideally qualified to be an orange.

A brave and mysterious volunteer will don the stunning outfit for our informal service this weekend.

Now read on to learn more of the secret life of Christingles

This Sunday, St Mary's will be welcoming the return of our Christingle service, previously held here in January 2020.

We have moved it to a pre-Christmas slot - but do you know where this tradition comes from?

Christingle celebrations are named after the exciting objects which are lit during the service.

They are oranges wrapped in red tape, decorated with sweets, with a candle inserted on the top.

The idea dates back to 1947, when a Bishop from Germany first started the tradition.

Looking for a way to symbolise how Jesus, the light of the world, spread happiness and good things, he came up with the idea of handing a candle with a red ribbon around it to every child in the service.

The idea spread fast - but its popularity really boomed in 1968 when the Children's Society started to encourage churches to hold Christingle services around Christmas time to raise money for children in need across the UK.

Exactly how some of the other parts of the Christingle became traditional isn't precisely known, and has varied over the years - after the Second World War, when oranges were hard to come by some services used swedes instead.

Fortunately, Webb's Greengrocers in the Churchyard are able to obtain enough oranges for everyone this year, and the team of St Mary's volunteers will be assembling over 100 fruity globes ahead of Sunday morning.

The key challenge is to resist eating the dolly mixtures until the end when the candle goes out.

Want to know more?

On Sunday, from 10am at St Mary's you can collect your fun-filled orange on the way in and learn about just what all those bits of a Christingle actually mean, and why we are raising money for the Children's society.

You can find out more about their amazing work at www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Christmas Tree arrives

Later in the week, another giant object takes centre stage in the Church when our Christmas tree arrives to be installed at it's traditional spot in front of Trinity Chapel.

It takes several days' work for our flower arranging expert, Margaret, to decorate it to amazing effect.

She uses thousands of baubles and lights in an elaborate confection that only she understands how to create. It is truly one of the sights of Hitchin at Christmas time, so do stop by St Mary's from next Friday when all should be ready to view.

Sunday evening

This Sunday evening our choral evensong will take place, although not in the same format as our Advent Carol Service which featured candle lit processions, there will also be wonderful music from our St Mary's Choir.

This service will also be available on our Livestream (www.youtube.com/c/stmaryshitchin) and you can still enjoy the previous weeks services in the archive.

Next week

The Theological Society returns and we plan a Christmas surprise for the town …

Further details of our services and events are found on our public Facebook page @StMarysChurchHitchin