Cathedral hosts Candlemas to end festivities

Canterbury Cathedral will mark the end of its Christmas season this weekend with a Christingle service for Candlemas.

From November until the end of January children are encouraged to decorate an orange with red ribbon, cocktail sticks, sweet treats and a candle to represent the light of Jesus.

The tradition of giving a candle and ribbon to children was started in 1747 by Bishop John de Watteville of Germany.

Rev Dr Emma Pennington, the Kent cathedral's canon missioner, said: "Candlemas ends the wonderful time of celebrating which began with Christmas Day when we all woke up to our presents, and then we came to Epiphany when the Wise Men saw baby Jesus in the stable and it ends with Candlemas."

Candlemas Day, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, happens exactly 40 days after Christmas Day, falling on 2 February.

"This is when Jesus was presented in the Temple as the first new born of Mary and Joseph," said Rev Dr Pennington.

"He is announced as the Light of the World but Mary is also told that a sword will pierce her heart which is a warning of the period of Lent and Holy Week to come, so it's a bittersweet time."

It is unclear why an orange was chosen to represent the world but the red ribbon wrapped around it represents the blood of Christ while the four cocktail sticks are the points of the compass or the four seasons.

The sweet treats can be anything from marshmallows to raisins and are the fruits of the earth.

A candle, or more recently a glowstick, is placed in the centre and lit during the Candlemas Service.

The workshop starts at 10:30 GMT on Sunday in the Community Studio inside the Canterbury Cathedral Precincts.

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