The Jesse Tree Tradition

We started the Jesse tree tradition in 2017. Our girls were ten and eight at the time, and I was in search of ways to celebrate the Christmas season that mattered to us.

In my own faith tradition, there is some ambivalence about the holiday itself. Should we celebrate or not to celebrate? When was Jesus actually born? To have a tree or not? Yada yada….

In our house we put that argument to rest. In a nutshell, Jesus was born, and we are so very grateful.

All the same, we wanted to do a hard pass on the commercialism of the holiday season. How could we use this time to focus on the most precious “gift” ever?

To google I went in search of a devotional series that could prepare us to reflect with fresh eyes on what Christmas represents.

Enter the Jesse tree tradition.

Jesse Trees are a thoughtful way to tell the story of the Bible from creation to the the birth of Jesus. 

The Tradition

Every night beginning on the first of December, we gather around the dinner table. We light a candle and share a devotional reflection tracing the story of the Bible through the genealogy of Jesus. To coincide with each story, we hang the cutest ornament on a small tree.

The name “Jesse” is a nod to King David’s father, Jesse and the promise that Jesus would come out of this family line.

Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Isaiah 11:1

Lessons Learned

This simple tradition has taught our family so many lessons. It has helped us realize that just like our family tree, Jesus’ family was super messy. No kidding! Follow along with me during this series, and you will see exactly what I mean. 

It has also reminded us of the importance of promise-keeping. Generations after the first man and woman walked in the garden of Eden, people held on to a precious promise that a messiah would come. And God kept His promise.

But perhaps the greatest blessing to our family is that we have come to appreciate the story of Christmas in a new way — it is the genealogy of a promise fulfilled.

Our girls are now fifteen and twelve respectively and we are still keeping the tradition alive. Now as we eat corn soup and pass the dinner rolls, under the glow of candle light, the girls are old enough to lead out in the devotional from December 1st to 25th. And it is  a beautiful thing.

However, truth be told, some nights  between their basketball and theater practice sessions, we miss a night or two. No worries — this is not about perfection at all! When that happens, we just double up the next night or get caught up on the weekend.

And so this year, I am extending this invitation to YOU! Won’t you  join along with our family as I share some of our Jesse tree devotionals? You’ll like them. I guarantee it!

And if you are inspired to start your own Jesse tree tradition, check out my next blog post on how you can do just that.