Find the Cross: A Game for Family Car Trips

Are you planning a family vacation by car?  You can keep children happily engaged in the backseat and teach them about their faith by making a game of finding and identifying the crosses and crucifixes they see along the route.   

On the first day of your trip, ask your children to simply count all the crosses and crucifixes they see as you drive. Encourage them to look for crosses and crucifixes on churches, roadside shrines, schools, and parks. The first child to spot one gets a point.  At the end of the day, the child with the most points wins the game. 

Begin the second day’s journey by teaching the children the difference between a cross and a crucifix.  A crucifix contains an image of Christ while a cross does not.  To win a point during this day’s trip, a child must be the first to spot the item and correctly identify it as a cross or crucifix. 

On the third day, explain the difference between the Greek Cross and the Latin Cross.  The Greek Cross looks like the plus sign used in addition problems (+).  Its four arms are equal length.  The Latin Cross has a base stem that is longer than the other three arms, similar to the lower case letter t.   Now to win points in the game, children must identify crosses they see as Greek Crosses or Latin Crosses. 

If your travels take you to a city in which there will be many houses of worship, you can further expand your child’s religious education by teaching them to identify Celtic Crosses, Maltese Crosses, and Tau Crosses.  A Celtic Cross, sometimes called an Irish Cross, has a circle in the center representing eternal life.  Maltese Crosses have become the symbol of firefighters and are usually found on fire stations and fire engines.  The Maltese Cross has four v-shaped arms, each with two points forming an eight-pointed cross.  A Tau Cross looks like a capital letter T.  The Tau Cross is worn today by members of Franciscan orders and displayed on their buildings because it was a favorite of St. Francis of Assisi. 

Finding crosses and crucifixes along the route reminds children that images of faith are everywhere and prayer can be part of every journey. Families seeking more information on crosses and crucifixes will find it in the new book, The Cross: A Universal Symbol, published by the Association of Marian Helpers.  This paperback has pictures and historical background that helps everyone identify crosses and crucifixes seen on historic monuments, flags, and houses of worship.  The Cross: A Universal Symbol is available at https://shopmercy.org/the-cross-a-universal-symbol.html and other book sellers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.