Last week, I shared the idea behind last year’s Advent Family Devotions – Chrismon Craft Kits! You can read more about Chrismons and the kits we used in that blog post.
Today I want to share the nuts and bolts behind our first Chrismon Craft Kit, the Ichthus Fish. Are you wondering why “a fish” was my answer to the question, “What’s the first thing I want people to make to hang on their Christmas tree?” Here’s some background on the Ichthus Fish:
Why a Fish?
The fish became an important symbol for Christians hundreds of years ago, only a few decades after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It began showing up in Christian art as early as the 2nd century AD, and it’s still used today as a powerful symbol of faith in Christ.
Fish are mentioned several times in the Bible, which may be what helped them become an important Christian symbol. For example:
- Many of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen.
- At the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus performed a miracle by feeding a huge crowd with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.
- After Jesus’ resurrection, he meets the disciples as they are fishing and tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Though they had previously caught nothing, when they follow Jesus’ instructions they catch 153 fish!
- In Matthew 12:38-35 Jesus talks about “the sign of Jonah,” referring to Jonah spending 3 days in a great fish. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
These are just a few of the many reasons why the fish may have become a popular symbol for early Christians. One story says that in the first centuries after Christ’s resurrection, when the Roman Empire was persecuting Christians, they would use the symbol when they met strangers while traveling. The Christian would draw an arc – one half of the fish. If the stranger was also Christian, they would recognize the fish and draw the other arc. This let the Christian know they were in safe company.
Along with the picture of the fish, the Greek word for fish – ΙΧΘΥϹ – (pronounced ICK-THUS) is often paired with the picture of the fish. ΙΧΘΥϹ is an acronym and an acrostic, meaning each letter of the word is the first letter of another phrase. Check it out-
Pretty neat, right? As one of the most common and meaningful symbols of the Christian faith, the it seemed like a great place to start.
Make Your Own Ichthus Chrismon
Are you interested in making your own Ichthus Chrismon? I made ours using our church’s handy-dandy Cricut Machine. You can download the custom cut files here.
In Cricut’s Design Space, organize the four files into a larger gold outline and a smaller white outline with dots and text. I use the ‘align vertically,’ ‘align horizontally,’ and ‘arrange’ tools to get the three files lined up correctly. Next I use the ‘attach’ function so that the white fish cuts as one piece. You can make the Chrismons any size you would like (up to the size of a Cricut mat). Since I was “mass producing” for use at church, I made mine on the smaller size. You can choose to scale them to whatever size is best for your use. Just make sure you keep the white fish a little smaller than the gold fish so that you’ll get a gold outline when you assemble the Chrismon.
Any white and gold paper will do, but I loved using gold glitter paper for the larger outline. I got mine at JoAnn Fabrics (when purchasing for church, I try to watch their sales and/or use coupons), but similar products are available on Amazon. Don’t worry, the glitter mess to glitter impact ratio is well worth it!
To help offset the cost of maintaining this site, links to Amazon are affiliate links that will help me earn on qualifying purchases.
Finishing Touches
For ease of use for our families, I included a few glue dots and a pre-cut piece of gold thread. I dipped one end of the thread in glue to make it into a pseudo-sewing needle. Glue bottles or sticks would probably also work fine, and if you have a blunt, yarn needle you can skip dipping the thread in glue. All of the assembly instructions, along with a family devotion and some simple activities for kids, are included in the devotional booklet we gave our with the Chrismon Craft Kit. You can download a .pdf of the Ichthus Booklet here.
I hope you enjoy making your own Ichthus Chrismon, and that it will remind you throughout Advent season of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Savior!