The
Jesse Tree has its origins in Isaiah 11:1, where the birth of Jesus is
prophesied “A shoot will come up from the stump of
Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit” .(Jesse was the father of King
David, from whom Jesus was descended.)
As early as the 11th Century depictions of
a Jesse tree were commonly found in churches as a way of teaching the mainly
illiterate churchgoers the Biblical history as told through characters and
events leading up to the birth of Christ. Sadly the majority of the Jesse tree
carvings and windows in churches were destroyed during the Dissolution of the
Monasteries under Henry VIII and very few remain in the UK today. They can be
more commonly seen in Europe and Chartres cathedral in France has one of the
finest examples. This is from a church in Krakow, Poland.
In more recent times the Jesse Tree has been used by families and sometimes in churches to help prepare for Advent. Starting on 1st December with Creation, an ornament or decoration is hung on a tree, accompanied by reading the relevant Bible verse. On 2nd, the Fall, on 3rd, Noah and so on, through Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets until John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph and finally Jesus on 24th December. I’ve not found an ‘official’ Jesse Tree list, but there are several published books and lists, which can be found online. Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp is a lavishly illustrated example, and The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean weaves the Jesse Tree story with a modern day tale of God’s love. I’ve adapted my Jesse Tree list a couple of times.
We
decided to do this as a family during Advent a couple of years ago. I printed
off a set of circle templates and used some pictures I’d found as inspiration
for drawing simple images to represent the characters and events. The children
then coloured them in. I found some twigs in the garden and put them in a
pot-very simple and not at all sophisticated! However we loved taking out the
new ‘ornament’ each day and talking about the character, reading from the Bible
and seeing how the big picture of God’s plan for salvation worked through the whole
of history. We haven’t done it every year since as I like to ring the changes,
but we’ve used them at least 3 times so they’re now a bit tatty!
This
year I’d love to make a new set, a little bit more creative than the ones the
children coloured in a few years ago, and so I’d love anyone interested to come
and join me! If
you have craft skills you could design your own, if you don’t feel ‘crafty’
then come along and there will be plenty of helping hands to guide you along
the way and some simple ideas. The decorations make a wonderful wedding gift or
for a godchild, and if we were really productive working together we could make
a set for our mission partners…. We can chat too as we cut/stick/glue/sew.
A few ideas for inspiration below.
If you want to find out more about joining in please contact
Lucy Russell. If you don’t know how, send a message via admin@emmanuelbristol.org.uk.
