This is one of the things we've been working on this advent, a Jesse Tree. We decided to keep it simple as it's the first time I've tried this. Next year I think I'll pick my own symbols and do the tree differently - I'm thinking of little clay pieces for each day/story, hanging on a wire tree, rather than this paper version I came up with last minute!
Anyhow, the point is to go through the symbols of the Jesse Tree during advent, one Bible character a day. It tells the story from creation to the birth of Christ, through people in Jesus' Biblical family tree (plus a handful of prophets, for good measure). The form of the tree and the symbols for on it are a tradition e few hundred years old, but all of the original versions in Churches were destroyed as graven images by the Protestant revolution. Sad. :(
We are enjoying it, surprisingly remembering a lot more than we thought we did, and looking at our faith from a different perspective. It's odd, to have gone so many years not thinking of people in the Bible as actual people, with real feelings, motives, dreams. Strangely humbling but uplifting to see them as, well, normal.
Anyhow, the point is to go through the symbols of the Jesse Tree during advent, one Bible character a day. It tells the story from creation to the birth of Christ, through people in Jesus' Biblical family tree (plus a handful of prophets, for good measure). The form of the tree and the symbols for on it are a tradition e few hundred years old, but all of the original versions in Churches were destroyed as graven images by the Protestant revolution. Sad. :(
We are enjoying it, surprisingly remembering a lot more than we thought we did, and looking at our faith from a different perspective. It's odd, to have gone so many years not thinking of people in the Bible as actual people, with real feelings, motives, dreams. Strangely humbling but uplifting to see them as, well, normal.
What a fascinating idea! Not something I was familiar with, which makes it even more intriguing. You are always so full of inspirational ideas for when our kitten is ready. :)
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