Hi here we are....on the shortest day of the year - Saturday, 21st December, 2013.

And this is me talking to you.....

Well, I really wish things were otherwise, not as they are, you understand.  As usual, I've given myself so much to do, a lot of which I've not done or completed, and the unfinished chores are ganging up on me.  I really want to get all these unfinished things done, organised and neatly filed away.  There's a sense of chaos about my desk and, no matter how hard I try to keep things in check, and make progress, I'm not able to.  At times it feels as if I'm trudging thru' thick fudge and matters are just too sticky for words!

Ah well, it's Christmas time very soon now and things and chores can, and should, stop for a while and then, when I return, these plaguey things getting at me, won't seem so worrisome, phew, thank goodness for Christmas, don't you agree?

Skyping with my son this evening, I mentioned the Christingle, and the Christingle church services for children, which we attended, thru' their church school of St. Mary's, when they were at junior school in West Sussex.  The Christingle, is used as a symbolic representation of the world, with the orange as the world, and a small white candle inserted into the middle to represent Christ as the light of the world; a red ribbon, tied around the middle, as a representation of the blood of Christ.  A later addition to the Christingle, was the ribbon tied from top to bottom, thus dividing the fruit into four sections, denoting the four seasons of the year and cocktail sticks speared with dried fruit to represent the fruits of the world.

The idea of the Christingle came about from a perceived need for a simple method of explaining Christ's love for the world to children of the Moravian Church in 1747, when Bishop Johannes de Watteville, thought up his idea of using an orange as a representation of the world.

So, from my lovely Skype with my son, I have rediscovered our family memories, re-introduced them to both of us, and opened up a whole world of discovery and research, and given me a fascinating subject to share via my blog post, which to my way of thinking is just so cool, so Christmas and thus eternal.

I wonder what fond family memories and traditions you have which you might like to share with me....I should really love to hear from you.

I must acknowledge my thanks to Wikipedia for the useful information on the history and background to the Christingle and....to the pomander, made using a clove studded orange, tied with a ribbon, giving four sections to decorate or fill with whole cloves, for a fragrant and delicious Christmas decoration.  We also made these at home when....ah but that's another story and and another blog post.....

Happy days, happy memories of family days and activities.

Daisy

PS do you like my new post image?