Hebron Evangelical Church, Aberdeen : The Christingle Story

The Christingle Story

Each year, many children enjoy making a Christingle at Christmas time. It is a tradition which began 273 years ago in a small church in Germany.
One story about how it began goes like this:

The children in the village were asked to bring a small gift to put in the crib at the church on Christmas Eve. One family was very poor and couldn't afford to buy a gift, but they had an orange, which seemed like a special gift to them. The top was a bit green, so the eldest brother cut a hole and put a candle in to hide the green. They thought it needed something else to decorate it though, so one of the sisters took a red ribbon from her hair and tied it around the orange. To hold the ribbon in place they used four cocktail sticks and then decorated the sticks with small bits of fruit. They were still a little shy about their gift but when the priest at the church saw it he was delighted and used it to help tell the story of God's love...

Untitled design (20) The round orange represents the world.

The red ribbon shows us the love that God has for us - through the blood of Jesus which was shed for all the world. Sometimes a white ribbon can be used and it shows the peace that Jesus brings to the world.

The four cocktail sticks usually point in four directions - north, south, east and west because God calls people from the four corners of the earth. They can also remind us of the four seasons, and how God looks after our world.

The dried fruit (or sweeties!) tell us about all the good things God gives us.

The candle shows us the best gift of all - Jesus, the Light of the World.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

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Planning your Visit

New to church? We're glad you're here!

Hebron is a Christian Church... What does that mean?

A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he lived a perfect life and died and rose again to mend our broken relationship with the God who made us. A Christian knows that it is their sin that has destroyed their relationship with God (and every other relationship) and only Jesus can deal with this problem. A Christian knows that Jesus died to take the punishment for sin that they deserve (death) and give them what they could not earn for themselves - fullness of life with God! Read more about Christianity here

What can I expect at Hebron's church meetings?

Our welcome team & stewards will make you feel at home and help your find way around.

Our Family Service at 11:00 is led by members from our church and includes singing, reading the Bible, prayers, and a sermon or message from the Bible. If you want to know what our messages are like you can listen online here. We have activities for children during these meetings too. Click here for more info. On alternate Sundays we also include the Lord's Supper in our service. This is a special time where Christians remember the death of Jesus by taking bread and wine - symbols that remind us of his body and blood given for us. This part of the service is also known as Communion.

Our Evening service at 18:00-19:00 is a varied programme, some weeks will have a focus on singing together, other weeks will have a Bible Study, prayer or communion focus. This will be a relaxed setting where everyone should find something of interest.

What if my children are noisy?

We love having children as part of our church family. God loves children and we do too! There are lots of children who come to Hebron who make varying degrees of noise. There is a crèche where you can take little ones. We also have a great children and teenagers programme where your child will be kept happy and taught during the sermon part of the service. You can find more about our children's activities here.

How long do your meetings last?

Most of our meetings on a Sunday last about an hour. You can find all the meeting times here.

What should I wear?

It really doesn't matter! Come as you are in whatever you feel comfortable.

The only churches I've known have been freezing. Will it be cold?

We have a newly renovated building with a modern heating system so you should be OK even in Aberdeen winters!

Do I have to bring money with me?

No, if you would like to know more about making a donation at Hebron see our giving page.

Where can I park?

There is parking available on the surrounding streets, in Golden Square and in the multi-storey car park on Huntly Street. Most streets and car parks have charges from 1pm to 5pm on Sundays but Skene Street is free all day Sunday and you'll usually get a space there if you're early enough! There are four spaces on the street right outside the church which we try to leave for those who really need them - but there is space there to drop people off if you need to

Any other questions?

Please just drop us an email at admin@hebronaberdeen.org.uk