At Christmas, a tradition has grown to decorate an evergreen tree (symbol of God’s constancy) with white lights and Chrismons instead of other ornaments of color. These Chrismons are all made in combinations of GOLD and WHITE. The white is the liturgical color for Christmas and stands for our Lord’s purity and perfection. The gold represents His majesty and glory. The white lights represent Christ’s constant presence as the “Light to the World”. Even in times of apathy or persecution, His light will never grow dim or be extinguished.

The word Chrismon is made from two other words: Christ (Chris) and Monogram (mon) which means “Christ’s monogram”. They were mostly symbols used by early Christians as a symbol of faith. They include symbols for the names of Christ, truths connected with Christ, or symbols of those who have been close to Him.

During the early years of the Church, it was dangerous to be a Christian so the followers of Jesus used secret signs and symbols to communicate with each other. In those times, Christians worshiped in secret. Christians, who were traveling, would find their way to centers of worship in distant towns by looking for the symbols of fish or an anchor cross painted or carved in places such as underground passageways, or in the catacombs. Some of these symbols were various combinations of letters of the name Christ or titles for Jesus. Today the sign of the fish and anchor cross are just two of the Chrismons still visibly etched in the stone of the catacombs in Rome.

Christian symbols became popular in the fourth century AD when the Roman emperor, Constantine, became a Christian. He used the Chi-Rho (☧) monogram as his military ensign. The Chi-Rho were the first two Greek letters in the word “Christos”. The “X” stood for the “Ch” and the “P” in the monogram stood for the “R”. Over time, more symbols have been added with meaning derived from the Bible or biblical ideas.

As you look at the handmade Chrismons in the chancel, they are hung on the grill of the altar and on the trees. The Chrismons on the grill represent the symbols of the church year. The Chrismons on the trees are various crosses, letters, words, or symbols representing God. There are posters in the narthex that will help you understand the meaning behind each Chrismon. We wish to thank Beverly Jagow for compiling this information for the congregation.