Preparing For The Holiday: Residents learn how to make Chrismons
RANGELEY – As any crafter would tell you, the Christmas season begins on Jan. 2 – and Christmas preparations really start heating up in October.
That timing is especially important for people who make Chrismons, a type of symbolic Christmas ornament which adorns Christmas trees in churches. Chrismons first hit the local scene about three to four decades ago, and now many churches are finding that they are having to update and replenish their aging collections of them.
Recently, Carolyn Hudson, aided by Page Rodgers, gave a class in making Chrismons at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.
Women who attended included Sharon Moore of Pleasant Grove Church, Emma Jean Mize of Landmark Baptist Church, Regina Jarrett of Fieldale Baptist Church and Sandra Moore of Mt. Bethel.
Hudson said she is considering scheduling another class this season. Her class is free and open to anyone interested.
Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has about 250 or 300 Chrismons for the Chrismon tree it's had since the 1980s. Its collection represents the different trends in materials through the years, including Styrofoam foundations, needlepoint on canvas and crossstich. It also has some made from its former stained glass windows. The present fashion is to make them of white and gold beads.
Holly KozelskyLocal history of a worldwide phenomenon
The word “Chrismon” is a trademark of Ascension Lutheran Church of Danville, and the history of the symbolic ornament is explained on the church’s website, Chrismon.org.
Ascension member Frances Kipps Spencer was the first to make them, in 1957. They are in designs of symbols which have been used by Jesus and his followers since Biblical times. The colors used are white and gold, to symbolize the purity and majesty of Jesus. Spencer and the congregation developed four instructional books with patterns so that other churches may make the ornaments as well.
Spencer stated that a tree was never finished until someone came to see it and have seen the story of Christ explained to them through the ornaments.
The original 20-foot Christmon tree (or its proper descendent, at least) can be seen in December at Ascension Lutheran church, 314 W. Main St., Danville. Viewing times are Mondays through Saturdays, from 7-9 p.m., and Sundays, from 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
The church sells Spencer’s original patterns and books along with other materials on its website.
A second significant site for Christmons is Rufty’s Chrismons Shop in Salisbury, North Carolina and also over its website, Chrismons.com. It was founded in the 1960s, according to the website, and Spencer gave it the right to use the Chrismons name and patterns. They sell the four books and supplies needed to assemble the ornaments.
Now Chrismons are made and used by churches across the world.
At the class, each woman chose an ornament she would like to make, and Hudson handed the students the patterns and supplies: beading wire and white and gold beads in assorted sizes, as well as small hand tools.
She helped them get started, then walked around monitoring their progress and giving advice: “Let’s try not to crink it” (the wire). “Let’s just turn your tail (of the wire) down.” “You put on two, you go through the two pearls.”
As Mize was weaving the bottom part of a basket, Hudson encouraged her: “This is the worst part. Once you get past this bottom, it’s easy – Be quiet, Sharon!” as Moore chuckled at their efforts and the prospect of the intricate beading yet to come.
The women chattered and laughed about the beading and other topics – hospital stays, learning crafts from their grandmothers – as they worked.
“So, we’re on the uphill here?” Hudson asked, peering over a shoulder. “Uh-huh – you’ve got the bad part done.”
As they worked, they also talked about the history of Chrismons, and how their church uses them.
Mt. Bethel has had a Chrismon tree since the 1980s, Rodgers said – and by now, the collection of Chrismons is getting old and needing to be replenished. It was a lady from Old Well Christian Church who first taught the members of Mt. Bethel about Chrismons and how to make them.
At Mt. Bethel, “We started with Styrofoam, but now we’re trying to go to all beads,” Hudson said. The church has about 250 or 300 in its collection.
At Fieldale Baptist, Jarrett said, “We have a huge, huge tree – but our ornaments are old. They’re big, many made of Styrofoam.”
Though the designs have remained consistent through the years, the styles have evolved. There was a time when Styrofoam was the medium of choice. Gold items were glued onto it, or gold and white beads were stuck into it with pins. At another time, gold cross-stitched designs on white cloth in gold frames, and needlepoint on plastic canvas, were popular. Mt. Bethel also has an assortment made from its former stained glass windows.
Page Rodgers weaves a net of beads to represent the Bible story of Jesus telling his disciples to cast a net to catch fish -- and, symbolically, to cast a net to catch people to teach them about Christianity.
Holly KozelskyRodgers said she can recall a time when “people bought in their necklaces to use the beads from.” As the years have passed, it’s easy to find beads at area craft stores. However, the patterns call for particular sizes and styles which are easiest to get on at Rufty’s, Hudson said.
The folks at Mt. Bethel get together off and on through the years to make more Chrismons for the tree. Definitely, nowadays, “this is being revived,” Rodgers said.
“The only stipulation” of what makes a Chrismon is that it must “speak about Christ,” Rodgers added. They also have to be in the symbolic colors: white and gold are most common, though “you can have a little bit of green, red and black.”
They should be placed on a live Christmas tree. Lights should be clear and steady, not blinking.
The women pointed out that the hardest part is making the first ones, and then the craft becomes second nature. “A lot of them are done under the same principle, and once you understand the principal you can sit down and do them” quickly, Rodgers said.
“I’ve done a lot, and the more you do it, the easier it gets,” Hudson said.
There’s one more important characteristic of the Chrismon, Rodgers added “The only way you can get a Chrismon is either to make it yourself or have someone to love you enough they give you one.”
Instructor Carolyn Hudson watches Sharon Moore start a Chrismon.
Holly Kozelsky
Tidak ada komentar