Chrismon tree

A Chrismon tree (St. Alban's Anglican Cathedral, Oviedo, Florida)

Chrismon trees are a popular^{[citation needed]} variation of the Christmas tree developed by Frances Kipps Spencer, a member of the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia. She originated the concept in 1957 when she set out to create decorations appropriate for a church's Christmas celebrations.^[1] The ornaments she created using leftover supplies used for wrapping Christmas presents quickly became popular, so Spencer began creating additional ornaments and wrote a series of how-to books. After her death in 1990, Spencer willed the rights to the Chrismons name and patterns to the Ascension church to continue its non-profit ministry.

The Chrismon tree is highly symbolic, conveying the life of Christ and the meaning of Christmas through commonly found items and easily understood symbols borrowed or modified from other sources.^[2] The tree is evergreen, representing eternal life, and decorated with traditional and modified ancient Christian symbols, called Chrismon. which are usually handmade by members of a local congregation using beads, sequins, glitter and styrofoam in colors of white and gold.

References

1. ^ Chrismon.org
2. ^ "Rediscovering Christmas traditions", Christianity Magazine, December 2005

External links

• Chrismon.org -- Official site
• "O Chrismon tree, O Chrismon tree", Decatur Daily, December 25, 2006