THE JESSE TREE

The Jesse Tree comes right out of a classic Advent passage from the prophet Isaiah:

‘A shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit’ (Isaiah 11:1).

The Jesse Tree is hung with ornaments representing Old Testament people and events, and lead up to Jesus.  The traditional symbols hung on the tree are based on the genealogy of Jesus as recounted by the first chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew.