The "Jesse Tree" is a custom from the Middle Ages. It comes from the words 'A shoot shall come up from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a branch will bear fruit' (Isaiah 11. 1) Jesse was the father of King David and the Bible tells us that Jesus will be born 'of the house of David'. Pictures or symbols representing people and events in the Bible were hung from a bare branch to make up a sort of family tree of Jesus. Christmas trees were decorated with apples, cakes and sweets for many centuries, and also decorated with candles, to remind children of the stars in the sky at the time of the birth of Jesus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.