(I know I owe you mail, Sylvia- I'm not ignoring you! I'm here... just not here here.. if that makes sense. LOL)

I have a question for all of you. Please feel free to answer-anonymously, if you'd like. I would just like/need some serious feedback about something.

How many of you wear a cross- be it on a necklace, a charm bracelet, etc? Or have a tattoo of a cross? Or something to this affect.... and yet are NOT Catholic, or consider yourselves "religious"? I do not mean a crucifix- If all of your crosses (or most of them, anyway) have Jesus on them, I'm not directing my question to you.

Thing is, I'm sort of trying to find out why the average person who wears a cross, does so. What kind of meaning does it have? What does it represent? Your faith in God? What, exactly?

I do not own any crosses, and never have. My dad (who was raised Catholic) tattooed himself when he was 15, with a cross on his wrist. He shunned the Catholic church- quite possibly before I was even born, though definately by the time I was 5-, but still felt that his tattoo had great meaning. My sister is now considering getting a tattoo to memorialize my dad- a celtic cross, with ivy & maybe some flower buds, with his initials (odd, because I've been thinking of doing something similar, sans the cross). I thought it was wierd that my sister would even think to get a cross, because our religion growing up was very anti-cross (maybe they were just anti-crucifix, and I just didn't see the difference?). Anyway, it just makes me wonder why I'm so against crosses in general (they creep me out). Surely they're not a bad thing.. right?

SO what does the cross mean to you?

(remember, you can be anonymous. I really would appreciate your feedback!!)