On the first Sunday of Advent we put up our tree. We, okay I, adorn it with white lights & purple ribbon. (The tree skirt is a new addition that I got 60% after Christmas! I was also on the lookout for purple & pink non-shattering ornaments... no luck.) Each day of Advent we read a chapter from the book
The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean. Every chapter contains a simple story of an ancestor or herald of Jesus. The Old Testament is much more real & memorable to me since we've been doing it. I LOVE IT! We've had a couple of ornament swaps among friends & have at least one symbol to match each story. Andrew & Rebecca each get to hang up an ornament after we read the story. Then we say our night prayers by the light of the Jesse Tree.
Usually, the last Sunday of Advent we finish the book & kind of re-cap the story of Jesus as we take down the Jesse Tree. This year that didn't happen until December 29th! But we keep on celebrating Christmas as long as we can so why not? Here's our Christmas tree.
I love to read, pray, or just sit by the light of the Christmas tree. It's so pretty & peaceful. Can I leave it up all year?
On the first Sunday of Advent we put up our tree. We, okay I, adorn it with white lights & purple ribbon. (The tree skirt is a new addition that I got 60% after Christmas! I was also on the lookout for purple & pink non-shattering ornaments... no luck.) Each day of Advent we read a chapter from the book The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean. Every chapter contains a simple story of an ancestor or herald of Jesus. The Old Testament is much more real & memorable to me since we've been doing it. I LOVE IT! We've had a couple of ornament swaps among friends & have at least one symbol to match each story. Andrew & Rebecca each get to hang up an ornament after we read the story. Then we say our night prayers by the light of the Jesse Tree.
Usually, the last Sunday of Advent we finish the book & kind of re-cap the story of Jesus as we take down the Jesse Tree. This year that didn't happen until December 29th! But we keep on celebrating Christmas as long as we can so why not? Here's our Christmas tree.
I love to read, pray, or just sit by the light of the Christmas tree. It's so pretty & peaceful. Can I leave it up all year? 
You can leave it up till Feb 2 - Presentation - like they did in the old days.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I always taught they did in Mexico...so that's our plan. I don't think we'll bring our baby Jesus dressed up to Church to be blest, but we might have cocoa & tamales. ;)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking I should look into if there was a simple Jesse Tree book. We tried reading from the Bible but that's too hard for the kids. Thanks for sharing and making my life easier! :)
ReplyDeleteStephanie, it's good you posted that, because although I intended to take ours down at the Epiphany, it's still sitting there, unadorned, waiting for ... the Presentation, I believe.
ReplyDelete