In 1957,
Francis Kipps Spencer created the first Chrismon tree. She coined
the term Chrismon as a combination of Christ + monogram to reflect
her desire to create decorations for Christmas trees that “proclaim
the name, the life, and the saving acts of Jesus the Christ.”
The purpose was to make homemade ornaments to show central symbols
of the Christian faith. Chrismons are traditionally white and
gold to reflect the colors of the Christmas season.
The symbols
can include historic symbols of the faith. Crosses are often prominent
on Chrismon trees. (The Book of Common Worship includes
a variety of styles of crosses on page 1107.) Other historic symbols
are often included, such as Trinitarian symbols or the Chi-Rho
abbreviation for the name of Christ in Greek (Xristos or Christos).
New symbols are also created to illustrate biblical texts and
to point to central elements of the Christian faith. The Chrismon
tree is one way in which churches try to avoid the commercialization
of the Christmas season by pointing to the message of the Christmas
season.
Cross
Botonnée (Preparation for worship)
Cross
Patée
(Pastoral liturgies)
Anchored
Cross
(Baptism and reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant)
Chi
Rho
(Abbreviation for the name of Christ)
Celtic
Cross
(Service for the Lord’s day)
Jerusalem
Cross
(Resources for the liturgical year)
Cross
Crosslet
(Daily Prayer)
Maltese
Cross
(The psalms)
For more information about Chrismons, see the
Web site www.chrismon.org/site/chrismon.htm,
which includes a brief history as well as a way to order books
of patterns for making your own Chrismons.
