A Giveaway for St. Nicholas Day!

As mentioned in my last post, to celebrate crossing 1,000 likes on my Good Books Facebook Page, I'm going to be hosting several giveaways throughout this holiday season.  

Here's the first one, a special "St. Nicholas Bundle" sponsored by EmiliasPost (the package will arrive at your house just in time for St. Nicholas Day!)...

The Saint Nicholas Bundle features:

• 4 hand-illustrated postcards (featuring Saint Nicholas on the front and postcard design on back)
• 1 bag of St. Nicholas chocolate gold coins (by Paidea Classics)
• 1 handmade St. Nicholas cookie cutter with a cookie recipe
• 1 “Life of St. Nicholas” card with instructions for celebrating his feast day

This is seriously the sweetest bundle of goodies from EmiliasPost, an Etsy shop that a young friend of mine recently started.  As a busy mom, she and a friend wanted to find some way they could help Syrian refugees - so they came up with the idea of selling the bundles on her Etsy page to benefit IOCC's Syrian Relief Fund. 

Traditionally, the chocolate gold coins are put in children's shoes that have been left out on the night of December 5th for St. Nicholas' visit.  But they make great stocking stuffers too!

I can't fail to mention this year's book recommendation for St. Nicholas Day on December 6th:  St. Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins by Jim Forest, luminously illustrated by Vladislav Andreyev. 

...the popular perception of Saint Nicholas today diverges greatly from his original veneration as a compassionate almsgiver and defender of the poor. Saint Nicholas has been reduced to the pop culture fi gure of Santa Claus, a jolly old man who brings presents to good little boys and girls. Th is book reacquaints those boys and girls with the authentic Santa Claus—Nicholas, a man who found greatness not simply in spreading "good cheer," but in being a true icon of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

Just as St. Nicholas gave gold coins to help the poor, I hope you take time this Advent season to teach your children to consider those who are poor and needy.

Everybody does Black Friday shopping, how about some Advent Giving...
I know this is a busy time with Thanksgiving approaching and with December right around the corner!  But I hope you'll stop by EmiliasPost Etsy Shop and (in the spirit of St. Nicholas) consider purchasing a St. Nicholas Bundle to send to someone special this December.
The St. Nicholas Bundles are $20, which includes shipping; 100% of the proceeds goes to IOCC Syrian Relief. You can also donate directly through IOCC here.

But back to my Celebratory GIVEAWAY! 
Leave a comment for your chance to win this bundle of joy...

• You have from today through Sunday, November 29, 2015 to post a comment here and/or on Facebook for a chance to win the St. Nicholas Bundle.
• Comments closed at midnight.  
• Winner announced on Monday, November 30, 2015. 

Please watch and come back to see if you're the winner, then email me your address so EmiliasPost can get the bundle mailed out to you in time for St. Nicholas Day!
UPDATE 11/30/15: Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! Congratulations to my giveaway winner, Maria, who is one of my Good Books For Young Souls Facebook followers.

Learning a Lesson About Forgiving our Enemies, from a Brave Saint Named George

April 23rd is the Feastday of St. George! So today I'd like to recommend this book, St. George and the Dragon by Jim Forest.  Its sumptuous illustrations are by Russian iconographer and artist, Vladislav Anddreyev. (ages 4 and up)

From the book’s afterword for older readers:
True stories become streamlined into legends and legends become compressed via symbols into myths. The St. George of myth was a knight in armor who fought a dragon to save a princess, but the real George never saw a dragon nor did he rescue a princess in distress. We are not even sure he had a horse or possessed a sword. 

A Christian convert born late in the third century after Christ, George was one among many martyrs of the early Church. 

What made George a saint among saints was the completely fearless manner in which he openly proclaimed his faith during a period of fierce persecution when many other Christians were hoping not to be noticed. According to one ancient account, George went to a public square and announced, “All the gentile gods are devils. My God made the heavens and is the true God.” For this George was arrested, tortured and beheaded. The probable date of his martyrdom is April 23, 303, in the town of Diospolis in Asia Minor — today’s Turkey. His witness led to the conversion of many and gave renewed courage to others already baptized.

source

As you would expect, this dragon is fierce! Yet in Jim Forest's telling of this profoundly Christian legend, the dragon is not slain, but only wounded by George. After the battle the townspeople, whose children had been the dragon's food, are given charge of caring for their former enemy.

I recently bought this book for my friend's three-year-old son.  He was immediately engrossed with the colorful Byzantine-style illustrations and engaging story.


You can find it here or on Amazon.com.

"Prepared and alert a Scout follows the lead 

Of our Patron Saint George and his spirited steed." 

- Baden-Powell in "Scouting for Boys":  Did you know that St. George is the Patron Saint of the Boy Scouts?  Read more here...

You can also read more about dragons in children's literature in my past post, "Dragon Tales", here.