Invitation to drive in Christmas event: ‘Heartwarming to have something positive to look forward to’ say organisers

Members of the Moravian church from across NI are organising a ‘Christingle’ event at Ballymena Showgrounds on Sunday December at 4pm.

Christingle is an centuries old tradition where people light a special Christmas decoration made from oranges and candles during a service, in order to convey the Christian message of Christmas.

“At this stressful time for everyone it is heartwarming to have something positive to look forward to,” the organisers said in a statement.

“Ballymena Showgrounds has hosted some wonderful events, and this year will again be the venue for something the town has never seen before! The Showgrounds will be the centre for a good news event when Moravians from across Northern Ireland celebrate Christmas, as they gather to hold the biggest Christingle Celebration ever.”

The Christingle tradition can be traced back to 1747 and a German Moravian Bishop, Johannes de Watteville. The bishop was looking for a simple way to show the happiness that the birth of Jesus brought to people at Christmas Time, particularly the children,and did this using a simple candle with a red ruff.”

A Christingle is an orange with a candle in it, around which are placed four cocktail sticks. At the ends of each of these are sweets, or raisins and around each orange is a red paper ruff.

Each car attending Sunday’s event will be given a sterilised pack containing everything needed to create a Christmas Christingle.

As organisers expect large crowds they are urging the public to book free tickets at https://bit.ly/2J78k1G