Garland and orange” “

Garlands, oranges, collections, journeys of solidarity and particular forms of protest for a more just and caring world: Christmas in England is celebrated by a mixture of faith and modernity, tradition and innovation. The result is a celebration full of initiatives. We present a few of them below. TradiTIONS AND mission. It’s called “Advent Wreath”, and consists of a garland of green pine fronds with four red candles placed at its centre. It’s one of the English traditions of Advent: its four candles are consecutively lit, Sunday after Sunday, until the Solemnity of Christmas, when the white central candle is lit. The tradition dates back to the last century and was imported from Austria and Bavaria. The garland also adorns homes; there it is the father or the youngest child who lights the candles. “Christmas offers us a unique opportunity in English society to reach out to those Catholics we never see during the year. Their everyday commitments, and an often frenetic life, keep them away from the Church to which they return only in moment of crisis or in the most important festivities of the year”, explains Father Philip, parish priest of St. Mary’s, at Loughborough (in the Midlands), speaking to SIR. “Attendance at masses doubles during this period, from approximately 550 faithful who regularly participate in Sunday Mass during the year, to over a thousand who come to church during the Christmas season”. The parish of St. Mary’s is also known for another tradition, much loved by children: that of the “Christingle” – the word means light of Christ. The idea comes from Moravia and dates back to 1747. Each child is given an orange that represents the world with four little sticks symbolising the four seasons and the eternal presence of God. Fruit, nuts and sweets are tied by children to the sticks. They represent the fruits of the earth, gifts of God. A red ribbon is tied round the orange as symbol of the love of Christ. “We gather the children of the parish round the altar close to Jesus and sing the carol “The Holly and the Ivy”, which tells of Christ’s love for us and his death on the cross. During each strophe of the carol the children stick a new piece into the orange. A lit candle is placed at the centre of the altar, while the lights of the church are turned off. The orange is taken home as symbol of Jesus, but often the children cannot resist and eat it before they get there”. UNUSUAL PROTEST. Parishes are very active, and not only in Advent, in providing help to the disadvantaged. In the run up to Christmas there’s a plethora of church bazaars, bring-and-buy sales and so on, whose proceeds help to fund projects for shelters for the homeless. Tinned food, warm clothing, gloves, shoes, sweaters and overcoats to donate to those who most have a need for them are collected. During Advent, twelve volunteers decided to live for a week on a packet of food and five pounds (about seven euros), the pittance that the British government gives to political refugees at this time. The initiative is a form of protest, supported by 45 Christian religious leaders, including Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue, delegate for immigration within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow. It’s promoted by the ecumenical charity “Church Action on Poverty”. Thousands of protest flyers will be sent during the weeks ahead to British Home Minister Charles Clarke, whom the protagonists will meet in January. In MEMORY OF THE Tsunami AND migrantS. This will also be a Christmas of solidarity for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, archbishop of Westminster and Primate of the Catholics of England and Wales. Accompanied by Chris Bain, director of the Catholic aid agency CAFOD, Catholic charity of aid to the developing countries, the cardinal will visit Sri Lanka to commemorate the first anniversary of the tsunami (26 December 2004, 200,000 dead) and see for himself the aid and reconstruction projects now underway in that country. The cardinal has thanked the Catholics of England and Wales for their generosity which has enabled over 6,500 temporary homes to be provided in Sri Lanka; it is hoped that a further 4000 will be completed at Batticaloa. On Boxing Day the cardinal, at a ceremony in the capital Colombo, will hand over the keys of the new homes to those left homeless by the tsunami. Meanwhile, on 3 December, the Catholic Church of England and Wales celebrated World Immigration Day which, as recalled by Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue, president of the Office for Immigration and Refugees, “gives us the opportunity to reflect on the difficulties raised by migration, such as the refusal of the world’s rich countries to sign or ratify international treaties that protect immigrants. There are those who exaggerate the difference between peoples and ask for the exclusion for those who are different. The Catholic Church rejects this approach and Christmas is a reminder to us of this”.