using an Advent Jesse Tree to Celebrate Jesus at christmas

By Katharine Grubb

photo from: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/11/free-jesse-tree-advent-devotional-book/

I’m a stressed out Mom at Christmas time. I often am tempted to overlook the importance of Jesus’ birth. And if I’m neglectful, then my children will miss something meaningful.

To add meaning to our holiday season, over the last few years, our family has created a Jesse Tree advent calendar. Not only do we count down the days until Christmas, but we also read and reflect on the history of mankind and the need of a savior.

The name Jesse Tree comes from a prophecy. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah tells the discouraged nation of Israel that they will have a future king who will be their salvation.

This is what the NIV says in Isaiah 11:
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

The idea of the Jesse Tree is that its a way to simply and concretely introduce the idea of Jesus’s birth as an Old Testament fulfillment. A Jesse Tree has 25 symbols, one for each day of the month. The first symbol is about Creation, the later symbols depict Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and all of the Old Testament pillars of faith, including Jesse, the father of King David, who is a direct ancestor of Jesus.

A Jesse Tree in your home can be a branch with a small ornament hanging from it, one for each day in the month of December. The ornaments depict the symbol of each one of the ancestors of Jesus and the forerunners of our faith.

At our house, we didn’t have room for an actual branch. Instead, we cut out 4”X4” squares of paper and drew a picture of the 25 symbols on each one. Then we taped the paper around a doorframe in our dining room. We’d read the passage associated with that day, and, as the month progressed, so did the artwork and the discussions about why Jesus came, how Christmas is about all of mankind, not just for December 25th. As our children have grown older, they’ve come to anticipate the Jesse Tree as an important element in our Christmas celebrations.

Links for more Jesse Tree ideas, artwork to print and scriptures to look up, try these links:
ERIErcd
A Holy Experience 
Jesse Tree
CRI Voice

I’ve found that there is a bit of inconsistency on these sites. This isn’t a major church doctrine, it’s just a fun tradition, so there is no right way to do it. Like everything you do in your family, choose how it can best fit your needs to add meaning to Christmas.