The Fourth Sunday in Advent
We Make Crismons for Our Tree
To decorate our trees and homes for Christmas, we make crismons, Christian symbols in white and gold, to remember our Lord and Savior.
The first is called the chi-rho (key-row) from the first two letters of Christ in Greek--it would be like calling it the c - h - r in English. (The x is the chi, and the p is the rho.) This symbol is frequently used on the paraments and other decorations of the church; the children enjoy looking for the chi-rho throughout the sanctuary once they have made it.
The second is a simple fish. Many of the disciples were fisherman, and remembering Jesus' promise that they would fish for people instead of fish, early Christians often used this symbol to identify themselves to one another.
The third symbol is a simple manger, for the Baby Jesus born in Bethlehem.
The easiest material to use is fun foam, found at all craft stores, and a variety of gold beads, cords, and ribbons. Use a glue gun to glue the ribbons onto the fun foam, and glue a gold cord on the back to use as a hanger.
The adult version involves Styrofoam, pearls, beads, sequins, and pins, and is much more difficult, though worth the effort.
