chrisma

Noun

chrismon (plural chrismons or chrisma)

1. A Christogram.
   • The sacred monogram or chrismon was extensively used by Constantine […] a crown of gold, enclosing the chrismon or mysterious monogram1869, Chambers's Journal, page 818
2. A stylised siglum or character interpreted as an invocation of Christ in Merovingian and Carolingian documents.
   • The document usually begins with a verbal invocation (such as In Dei nomine, amen) or a chrismon (often Christ's monogram formed from the letters XP)1970, Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 7, page 478
3. A Christmas decoration with explicitly Christian religious symbolism.
   • Chrismons were first made as tree decorations by members of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Daville, Va., in 1957.1964, The Lutheran Witness, volume 83, page 548