What's with the fish?

After Jesus had ascended into heaven, it became a dangerous time for many Christians as they were persecuted by both the Romans and the Jews. They adopted a fish symbol as a way of recognising each other.

The symbol is derived from the greek word ichthys where the original greek letters were an acronym for the phrase "Jesus, Christ, of God, Son, Saviour"

A Christian would apparently draw the top arch of the symbol in the ground. If the other person drew the bottom arch to complete the symbol then chances were they were in safe company!

For more reading on the fish symbol see
http://www.eureka4you.com/fish/fishsymbol.htm