When I began researching the history of Christmas and all the traditions associated with it, I came across Chrismons and had no idea what they were.
However, when I started to dig into it, I quickly realized that I did know what they were but did not know that they were called something other than decorations.
So what are chrismons? and how are they different from traditional Christmas decorations?
Origins of Chrismons
These decorations originated at the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia, when they were first made by Frances Kipps Spencer. Frances developed these decorations because she wanted Christians to remember why they celebrated Christmas.
Instead of placing any decoration on a tree, Frances wanted to put some meaning behind it, so she developed decorations with Christian symbols on them that help remind Christians of the birth of Christ. I have seen these in many churches, Christian homes, and even my own home!
The Ascension Lutheran Church still practices what Frances began. Each year, they put up a twenty-foot Christmas tree and open the church up to the public. While visitors come, they tell them the story of Jesus through her original Chrismons.
These decorations are traditionally white and gold. White represents the color of Christmas and the purity of Jesus when he came to the earth. The Gold represents his majesty and glory.
When churches picked up the tradition of Chrismons, they began to develop their own symbols that are unique to their church and still tell the same story.
Below is a video that helps explain Chrismons more and gives you a visual of a Chrismon tree. If you are like me, then you have probably seen these many times but did not know they were called something else.
The website Why Christmas also has images of many of the various symbols.