Is the Jesse Tree an Advent Calendar?
Sunday, November 02, 2025
Key Takeaways:
- The Jesse Tree isn’t a typical Advent calendar — It doesn’t count down with treats or toys, but with Scripture, symbols, and stories that trace salvation history to Christ’s birth.
- Advent is about watching and wondering — The Jesse Tree helps families live the season with prayerful anticipation, reflecting on God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus.
- How it works — Each day of Advent, families read a Bible story, hang a symbolic ornament, and pray together—filling the tree (and their hearts) with gratitude and hope.
- Why it matters — The Jesse Tree invites Catholic mothers, grandmothers, and families to slow down, reclaim Advent from the holiday rush, and root their homes in faith.
- A devotion that continues through Epiphany — Rebecca’s book From the Jesse Tree to Epiphany extends the story beyond Christmas, guiding families through the full season of joy and revelation.
The answer is both yes and no.
The beloved devotional known as the Jesse Tree isn’t an Advent calendar in the typical commercial sense — there are no tiny doors to open, no sweets tucked inside, no countdown in gifts. Yet it does perform a kind of countdown. Like an Advent calendar, it leads us day by day toward Christmas — but instead of chocolates behind numbered windows, each day on the Jesse Tree invites us to trace a symbol, a story, a branch of salvation history, linking ancient promises to the coming of our Lord.
Where a typical Advent calendar might simply mark the days, the Jesse Tree illuminates the story behind the days, helping our hearts prepare not just for a date, but for a Person: the Messiah.
Advent: The Season of Watching and Wonder
Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical year. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah; for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.”
— CCC 524
In other words: as we remember the journey to Bethlehem, we also awaken longing for the heavenly coming of Christ. Advent invites joyful waiting. The Jesse Tree fits beautifully into that — it helps families to pause, reflect, and remember that Christmas is more than a date; it is the culmination of God’s promise unfolding.
How the Jesse Tree Works in Practice
Here’s how you might use the Jesse Tree in your home:
- Choose a small tree branch, a small potted tree, or even a string display.
- Prepare 24 (or more) ornaments or symbols, each representing a person, event, or prophecy from Scripture.
- Each day in Advent, gather as a family: read the Scripture, tell the story behind the symbol, hang the ornament and pray together.
- Watch as the tree fills up — not only with ornaments, but with gratitude, wonder and hope.
By doing so, you’re counting down to Christmas not with candy, but with grace. You’re helping children (and adults!) see that every piece of Scripture, every figure in the Bible, every moment in God’s plan points to Bethlehem — and beyond.
Why It Matters for Catholic Moms, Grandmothers, Aunts & Sisters
You know how easy it is for Advent to get lost in the rush to Christmas. Decorations, shopping, parties—these things can obscure the true preparation. The Jesse Tree calls us gently back to what matters: Christ with us, and the story that brought Him.
As you walk alongside the women in your community — mothers yearning to keep Christ at the center of Christmas — the Jesse Tree becomes a tool of legacy. A tool of formation. A tool of hope. When each day becomes an invitation to remember God’s faithfulness, you’re not just helping families fill a tree—you’re helping them root their lives in the vine of Christ.
A Hidden Link: The Story of the Original Children’s Devotion
While the Jesse Tree tradition reaches back to medieval sacred art and the ancient prophecy of Jesse (Isa. 11:1) Wikipedia+1, its adaptation as a children-friendly home devotion grew through many hands. One such early devotional form appears with the 1982 publication of Jesse Tree Devotions: A Family Activity for Advent by Marilyn Breckenridge, an American author who adapted the symbols and stories for younger children. Jesse Tree Devotional
Though she was not English nor (as far as documented) Episcopalian, her work illustrates how the Jesse Tree devotion has evolved in the family context. We owe gratitude to vulnerable pioneers of this form of catechesis—those who saw in a simple symbol the power of salvation history, and in children the capacity to understand and adore.
At CatholicSmile, we’ve built a whole set of resources around this idea — including:
✨ New Book Coming Soon! ✨
If you’re looking to deepen your family’s Advent journey — and extend it through to Epiphany — I’m excited to announce my upcoming book: From The Jesse Tree to Epiphany.
This resource builds on the Jesse Tree tradition and carries the story forward into the fullness of Christmas: the visit of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the revelation of Emmanuel to the nations. It offers rhymes, reflections, and beautiful illustrations to walk your family from the anticipation of Advent all the way to the feast of Epiphany.
Stay tuned for its release — a new way to journey through Scripture with your family is on the horizon!
Together, we’re not just marking days—we’re making meaning. We’re gathering around the tree of salvation and welcoming the Branch of Jesse, coming to blossom.
May your home be filled this Advent with watching, wondering, waiting—and may the Jesse Tree become a beloved way for your family to live the story of grace until the Babe of Bethlehem becomes the King of hearts.
- Rebecca
Frequently Asked Questions
The most important thing on Christmas Day is and always will be Jesus Himself, the gift of God’s love made flesh. By living the full 12 days with prayer, gratitude, and service, we move from presents to Presence, keep Christ at the center, and share His joy with the world.
The moral lesson of Christmas is that redemption is God’s gift of joy through the Incarnation of His Son. By living the full 12 days with prayer, gratitude, and service, we keep Christ at the center and share His love with the world.
Christmas is not about rushing or consumerism, but about entering the Church’s rhythm—preparing in Advent, celebrating the 12 days of Christmas, and rejoicing at Epiphany. By embracing prayer, gratitude, and service, and making our homes places of faith, we keep Christ at the center and reclaim the season’s true joy.
Hi, I am Rebecca Even
CEO Of A.M.D.G. Productions LLC
Catholic author, Speaker, Songwriter but not a singer, Rebecca Even is a wife and mother with a passion for working with women especially mothers of all ages.
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