What is Advent?
Advent describes the season leading up to Christmas. Traditionally, it begins four Sundays before Christmas day (although some choose to begin on December 1) and is a season of personal preparation and hopeful expectation.
The word “advent” is Latin for “coming.” Many Christians acknowledge a threefold meaning to the word Advent: The coming of God to earth in the form of a baby on Christmas day, the coming of God to our own hearts daily, and the return of Jesus Christ in His second coming.
There are a great many ways to celebrate Advent individually and as a family. My own family lit candles each Sunday in the four weeks leading up to Christmas day, a tradition I cherished with childlike awe growing up. The candle lighting was accompanied by reading scripture and prayer together, and occasionally singing a hymn or two. Others may choose to fast or use a seasonal devotional in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Still others use calendars with special pictures or treats to be opened each day in December.
The God With Us resources offered here use a combination of traditional elements, one of which being the Jesse Tree approach to celebrating Advent. The book itself pairs symbols from stories that point ahead to the coming Messiah with corresponding scripture passages, a meditation, prayer, and extension activities. Wooden ornaments depicting the symbols, sticker charts, and coloring books offer a great many options for children and adults to engage and celebrate together. In as little as 5 minutes a day, or as long as an hour or more if a deeper discussion takes place, families can choose which elements they’d like to use each night or each year to meet the needs of their family members or classroom.
The Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is a Christmas tradition that typically takes place during the Advent season. In the days leading up to Christmas, a tree, banner, or branch is decorated with ornaments depicting symbols from stories in the Bible that point ahead to the lineage and birth of Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. This often creates a newfound appreciation for Old Testament stories as well as a greater understanding of the overarching narrative of the Bible. God’s plan for redemption begins in Genesis and is fulfilled in the birth, death, and eventual return of His Son Jesus.
Ideas for Celebrating
These resources are designed to be used during family or classroom devotional time. A story theme, Bible verses, reading, prayer, and extension activities are provided for the twenty-five days in December leading up to, and including, Christmas day. Opening the Bible together is a powerful activity for families, and I encourage you to look up and read the verses listed under each day’s heading before reading the devotional portion aloud. This can be an excellent time to model for your family how to look up verses in the Bible and to impart the relevance of scripture to our daily lives. All ornament sets, sticker charts, and coloring books include the daily scripture references for use with your personal or family Bible.
You can choose to read only the scripture and hang the corresponding ornament on a tree, banner, or garland. You may alternatively decide to place that day’s sticker on your Advent tree or color in the ornament in the coloring book. Many families read the scripture passage, meditation, and prayer each night and choose an extension activity or question to engage older family members while younger children color or play quietly nearby. Three “Branching Out” activities or questions are provided for each story theme, ranging in both complexity and depth. (In other words, there are easy hands on activities for little hands, more involved activity ideas for school aged kids, and deeper questions for preteens and teens). You know your family best and are invited to select activities that match the developmental stages and interests of your family. This means that our resources grow with your family, and Advent might look slightly different each year- that’s okay!
The most important activity during Advent is coming together and focusing our collective attention on God and the gift of His Son in the days leading up to Christmas. I pray this time becomes a treasured tradition in your family, as it has in ours. Emmanuel, God With Us, our hope and peace.