A tradition which began as the result of a poor Lutheran pastor’s desire to make decorations for his own congregation to use at Christmas has become a common sight in churches of different denominations across the United States.

George Pass asked a church member for the scraps of her holiday wrappings so he could make decorations for the church’s Christmas tree - decorations that were symbols about Jesus Christ, taken from the Greek language.

Louise Horvath, Altar Guild chairwoman for First United Methodist Church in LaGrange, is not sure if Pass had any idea about how the tradition would spread, but she is glad it did.

Horvath and a group of 17 women recently gathered in one of the classrooms of the church’s ministry center to work on more then 73 new Chrismon decorations to replace old ones that had broken.

Looking around the room, Horvath said, “It has been several years since we last did the Chrismon tree.”

Sunday’s church service to mark the beginning of Advent included decorating the Chrismon tree.

The length of time it has taken each woman to repair or decorate an ornament - each cut by Tom Pirkle - “depends on who is doing it and what they want to put on the ornament,” Horvath said.

Pattern books and instructions are available. Horvath expected to meet with her group of volunteers at least three times before all the decorations were complete.

“It takes a lot of time, and there is a lot of work put into each one,” she said.

For Horvath and many of the women, the meaning of each Chrismon symbol is not lost, but the specialness this year of preparing them goes beyond the actual symbolism of each ornament. She said it is about “the fellowship we have when we get together. Today, for example, we worked from 9 in the morning and will be here until a little past noon. We talk, we share and friendships are bond tighter.”

“It is a chance for us to get together and talk, when sometimes we only see each other in passing at church on Sundays, across the congregation, waving.”

— Churches or organizations with a special Christmas decorating tradition or a new one may contact Becky Holland at bholland@lagrangenews.com or (706)884-7311, Ext. 229.