By the Rev. Enid Pow in Kuujjuaq

To celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, the church in Kuujjuaq had a “Christingle Service”. This is a family service where children and adults work together to make a Christingle. This is an old German tradition that tells the story of Christmas. It starts by telling the story of how God made the world (represented by an orange.) The orange has a red ribbon tied round the middle to tell the story of Jesus shedding his blood for the sins of the whole world (pro tip: I use red tape as it is much easier!) It also reminds us that Jesus is coming again as King over the whole creation. The four wooden toothpicks at the top of the orange have candies put on them. This tells us that God provides us with good food in the four seasons, and that his presence is with us wherever we go in all directions. The candle inserted into the top says that Jesus is, was, and will always be the light of the world, bringing light into the darkness. He is the hope of our world. We then stand at the front of church with the candles lit and sang a special song (sung to the tune “Give me oil in my lamp”). The people are then asked to pray a Christmas blessing over someone they love and blow out the candle and watch the smoke rise up toward heaven. Happy Advent!