Celebrating the Season of Advent, Part 1: Jesse Tree
Although Thanksgiving is a little over a week away, it is not too early to start thinking about Advent because it will begin just three days later.
Advent is one of the most exciting time periods in our house because it really is a season of anticipation and there are so many ways we celebrate the Advent season. Yes, celebrate. Liturgically, Advent is indeed a time of preparation for Christmas, and as such, it is a penitential season, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying our preparation for our Savior's birth. (It is a bit like enjoying the preparation for a birthday party. Sure, there is work involved, but it can be quite a bit of fun to prepare.)
One of our favorite daily reminders of the many years of preparation for the Incarnation is our Jesse Tree. We made this a number of years ago, and it is a wonderful way to remember the salvation history prior to Jesus' birth.
There are ornaments associated with each day of Advent. The ornaments symbolize an event or a particular ancestor of Jesus. The first day is creation which is represented by a globe on our tree. Adam and Eve are symbolized by the Tree of Life. Along with adding the ornament, a brief reading is read which puts the event in the context of salvation history.
As you can see from the picture, our tree is a piece of a wooden curtain rod attached to a platform. Small holes were drilled into the curtain rod piece and pieces of wooden dowel were inserted into the curtain rod piece. You could also use a small plant or an artificial tree.
The really fun part is making and selecting the ornaments. Many of the ones we use on our tree are hand made. For instance, Jacob's ladder is several toothpick pieces made into a ladder. Moses is represented by piece of evergreen that was painted to look like a burning bush. This is a great opportunity to be creative and to learn more about the Biblical characters through the symbols which represent them.
There are many resources available via a quick search (for instance, here is one), and of course, you can buy an entire kit. No matter what you use, the Jesse Tree is an excellent way to prepare for our Savior's birth and to learn about all the preparation that our Lord did before He was born in a stable.
Advent is one of the most exciting time periods in our house because it really is a season of anticipation and there are so many ways we celebrate the Advent season. Yes, celebrate. Liturgically, Advent is indeed a time of preparation for Christmas, and as such, it is a penitential season, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying our preparation for our Savior's birth. (It is a bit like enjoying the preparation for a birthday party. Sure, there is work involved, but it can be quite a bit of fun to prepare.)
One of our favorite daily reminders of the many years of preparation for the Incarnation is our Jesse Tree. We made this a number of years ago, and it is a wonderful way to remember the salvation history prior to Jesus' birth.
There are ornaments associated with each day of Advent. The ornaments symbolize an event or a particular ancestor of Jesus. The first day is creation which is represented by a globe on our tree. Adam and Eve are symbolized by the Tree of Life. Along with adding the ornament, a brief reading is read which puts the event in the context of salvation history.
As you can see from the picture, our tree is a piece of a wooden curtain rod attached to a platform. Small holes were drilled into the curtain rod piece and pieces of wooden dowel were inserted into the curtain rod piece. You could also use a small plant or an artificial tree.
The really fun part is making and selecting the ornaments. Many of the ones we use on our tree are hand made. For instance, Jacob's ladder is several toothpick pieces made into a ladder. Moses is represented by piece of evergreen that was painted to look like a burning bush. This is a great opportunity to be creative and to learn more about the Biblical characters through the symbols which represent them.
There are many resources available via a quick search (for instance, here is one), and of course, you can buy an entire kit. No matter what you use, the Jesse Tree is an excellent way to prepare for our Savior's birth and to learn about all the preparation that our Lord did before He was born in a stable.
Labels: Advent
posted by David at 7:30 AM
1 Comments:
I really love the comment you made about preparing for Christmas like preparing for a birthday party. Growing up before opening our gifts we always sang happy birthday to Jesus.
I love seeing how you made your Jesse Tree. After our son was born on the first Sunday of Advent, my hubbie and I actually wrote a book for Advent/Jesse Tree. I can't wait to actually read the book with our son this year and make our Jesse Tree. I have be enjoying seeing what everyone is doing for their Jesse Tree.
I saw you were linking to free Jesse Tree resources, we have our ebook, printables etc all free on our site MyJesseTree.com too :)
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