If this is the first year you create a Jesse Tree, you’ll
need to make the symbolic ornaments to hang on the “tree”, either day by day or
in a marathon crafts session. I’ll
offer potential symbols for each story, but you might want to come up with your
own; many families use a rainbow for Noah's story, for example, but one of my
sons loves animals so we had giraffes.
To make the symbols, we used colored construction paper and felt tipped
pens, or cut out and glued felt, or we used found materials. For Isaac's sticks, for example, we
bundled a small bunch of twigs together, and for Rahab's cord, we used a piece
of red ribbon. You can’t get it
wrong.
Go for a walk with your children to look for a branch from a
bush or tree that you can "plant" in a flower pot filled with sand or
place in a sturdy vase. On the first night of Advent, or on whatever night you
begin, instead of hanging a symbol on the Jesse Tree you will "plant"
it.
Then each night, light a candle or two near where you put
the Jesse Tree and tell one of the stories. (If you are comfortable doing so, have one of the children
light the candle, but keep it far enough away from the tree to avoid a fire.)
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