A New Children's Book for Pascha (and a Giveaway Book of Eastertide Devotions for Moms)

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Catherine's Pascha, by Charlotte Riggle, is a new picture book that follows a sleepy little girl on Pascha night. (Pascha is the Orthodox celebration of Easter.  "Pascha" comes from the Hebrew word for Passover, because the Passover feast was being celebrated when Jesus was raised from the dead, and because in his Resurrection Christ fulfilled the promise of the Passover sacrifice.)  

Illustrated by R.J. Hughes, this book has a lot going on...
Your child will follow along, as late at night Catherine and her family leave their home with their Pascha basket full of goodies and arrive at their darkened church.  Once there, Catherine and her friend Elizabeth light a candle with others from their parish, sing, walk in procession, and proclaim "Christ is Risen!" as they celebrate the joyful Resurrection of Christ.

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The pictures on each page in the book are framed by an illustration of a building. At first, it’s Catherine’s house. The picture within the frame follows the action of the story. Once Catherine arrives at her parish, the frames on page after page show a different Orthodox church building from around the world. Inside the frame - which follows earthly time and earthly place - we see Catherine at her parish church, yet there is a sense in which all distinctions of time and place have collapsed. Because of the different church buildings that frame her story, there is a sense in which she stands together with Christians from all times and places to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ!

How about putting a copy of Catherine's Pascha in your child's Easter basket this year? Be sure to visit the wonderful website for the book - you'll find copies of Catherine's Pascha available for purchase there.

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Ever wonder how Easter got it's name? You can find out on the Catherine's Pascha website. There are also lots of fun activities, recipes, and information about traditional Pascha eggs and baskets!

Now for the Giveaway...for a lucky Mom (or Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, or other adult who may be following my blog)!

Would you like to have a devotional book for the days that follow Pascha? Far from being merely a “vacation from fasting,” the Pascha season (or "Eastertide", the 40 days between Pascha and Ascension) is a time that, properly understood, can greatly enrich our faith.

The Pascha season is certainly a time for rejoicing, but this should not lead us to forget that it is a preparation for another great feast: Pentacost. During the Pascha season, we celebrate and rejoice in our Lord’s Resurrection and we prepare for the great feast of the Holy Spirit descending upon us.

Today I'm giving away the book Meditations for Pascha: Reflections on the Pentecostarion, by Vassilios Papavassiliou.  He is also the author of Thirty Steps to Heaven.

Each short chapter in this lovely little yellow paperback volume gives us reflections and Scripture readings about Bright Week, Thomas Week, Week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, and so on...

Vassilios Papavassiliou's Meditations for Pascha is his fourth in a series of pocket devotions: Meditations for Holy Week, Great Lent, and Advent.

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• Please leave a comment here at the end of this post to enter my giveaway for Meditations for Pascha.  
• Giveaway ends Friday, March 27, 2015. 
• One winner will be chosen at random (I use random.org list randomizer.)  
• Winner announced Saturday, March 28, 2015.