The Jesse Tree, An Advent Tradition

From Catholic Company

Advent Tradition

The Jesse Tree is an Advent tradition in which Bible verses and ornaments are used to trace the salvation history of Christ. The name comes from Isaiah:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2)

Arts and Crafts

Some people make ornaments that symbolize the day's scripture and place them on their regular Christmas tree. Others set aside a smaller tree of some sort to put the ornaments on. If you have children this can be a great arts and crafts activity to do as a family. Since all of our children are grown and out of the house, we use the Jesse Tree pewter advent wreath because it combines the Advent Wreath lighting with the Jesse Tree tradition. Each day you light the candle, you reflect on one of the scripture passages. The wreath itself has the symbols on its base. The image above is a photo of that wreath.

Scriptural Guide

For a scriptural guide to use with your particular Jesse Tree, I recommend Dr. Italy’s collection.

Video:

Here's a brief YouTube video from the Catholic Company demonstrating the Jesse Tree Advent Wreath.