The Jesse Tree as Part of Advent

The symbols on the Jesse tree stand for important persons and events in the Old Testament. The Jesse Tree, through its use of Old Testament symbols, ties the two portions of Scripture together. In a way, it is Jesus' family tree, for the people who are represented and whose stories are told are Jesus ancestors.

There should be twenty-five ornaments to hang on a bare branch--you can use a piece of dead wood from your garden or yard and you can spray paint it silver or gold, although the symbol works best with a bare branch. The ornaments can be "found objects", cookie cutters (miniature ones might work best depending on the size of your branch), or hand-crafted ones from paper, clay, pipe-cleaners, whatever you have on hand.

For links to articles about the ornaments and blessings for the tree see the links section below.

The Jesse Tree is actually a rather recent practice and it is quite ecumenical. It is one way to help children keep focused on the meaning of Christmas and it can be shared by children of different Christian faith traditions, so if you have a "blended" family or wish your children to have an activity with neighbors, this might be it.

Because each list that I have found on the Internet is slightly different, I am giving you links to several of them so that you can choose for yourself. Please see the link list below.