Gleanings From a Book: The St. Nicholas Day Snow, by Charlotte Riggle
Sprinkled with history and traditions, Charlotte Riggle's new book The St. Nicholas Day Snow brings to light the life of St. Nicholas in the context of a story of two modern-day friends preparing to celebrate his name day. The illustrations add a great deal of dimension to the text, contributing a secret second story line while inserting intriguing historical additions. These dimensions increase the value of the book: it can be read simply for the story, or poured over while the reader digests the second story line and takes in some of the historical details.
Fans of Catherine's Pascha will be delighted to find their friends Catherine and Elizabeth starring in The St. Nicholas Day Snow. In this story, Elizabeth is staying at Catherine's house overnight while her parents leave town to visit her nana. Since it is the eve of St. Nicholas Day, the girls compare notes about their families' St. Nicholas Day traditions while baking "St. Nicholas Cookies" together. Catherine's brother's godfather stops by to take Peter to his house for the night. When he overhears the children's discussion, he shares a story from St. Nicholas' life. As the girls' day continues, Elizabeth worries about her Nana, who is ill. Catherine's mother helps the girls pray for Nana, and they ask St. Nicholas (who is also a wonderworker) to pray for her as well. The light snow that began when Elizabeth arrived continues throughout the night, coating the shoes the girls had set out (with treats for St. Nicholas and his horse), and glistening on the gifts which he left for them. The snow is deep enough that the girls can go out and play, to their delight. It also complicates travel, which blesses the girls with another unexpected gift: an extra day together! That day becomes even more special when they learn that Elizabeth's Nana is recovering well.
This story is both entertaining and educational, but amusement is not all that the reader will gain by reading this book. Layers of learning unfold while reading The St. Nicholas Day Snow. Besides the main storyline, there is (as mentioned above) a second story line. On every spread of the main story, a small illustration reveals this second storyline, which follows Elizabeth's parents' visit to her Nana. Soon after they leave Elizabeth at Catherine's house, they get a call that Nana is in the hospital, gravely ill... When they arrive at the hospital, she worsens and requires surgery. Their priest comes to pray with them and stays even after the surgery is completed. He remains with them all night, keeping vigil while Elizabeth's parents fall asleep. In the morning, Nana wakes and is much better. They all say a prayer of thanksgiving.
Every spread also features an illustration of a church which is named after St. Nicholas. The churches are from all parts of the world, and those on the pages of the main story are placed in chronological order of when they were built. Just above each church's illustration is an icon or drawing of St. Nicholas, either from within the church itself, or from the era when the church was built. It is interesting to look at the great variety of church buildings across the centuries. It is also fascinating to see how differently St. Nicholas is depicted over the years. These touches of history pique the reader's curiosity about this saint and how his prayers have affected people for hundreds of years.
The last pages of the book are invaluable to parents and teachers alike. Full of information, they offer answers to questions about St. Nicholas, the churches in the book, some of the traditions the girls discuss, sainthood, and much more. This section also addresses the question "do Orthodox Christians pray to saints?" which will help non-Orthodox people to understand Orthodox Christians' desire to have those closest to God praying for us. Additional resources can also be found in these pages, ranging from book suggestions to websites. And if you've a mind to bake the "St. Nicholas" (Snowball) Cookies" that the girls make in the story, the recipe is included as well! We recommend that adults read this section before reading the book to their children. Much of the information in this last part of the book will be useful for answering questions the children may have as you read the story with them.
Dusted with hope, prayer, traditions, and joy, this book will be a sparkling addition to any Orthodox Christian library.
You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Here are some gleanings from the book The St. Nicholas Day Snow, (taken from the informational pages at the end of the book, so as not to ruin the story), as well as additional resources about St. Nicholas that can be helpful as you share his life and/or this book with your Sunday Church School students:
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"St. Nicholas wasn't an elf, of course. And he didn't live at the North Pole. He was a man, born in the year 270 (or perhaps 280) in the Greek village of Patara in what is now Turkey." ~ from the section "Who Was St. Nicholas?", The St. Nicholas Day Snow, by Charlotte Riggle
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"Orthodox Christians... believe in asking each other for prayers and for help in times of need... "Each other" includes our family and friends. And it includes the people we call saints. The saints are no longer distracted by earthly cares and physical needs. They can truly pray without ceasing. And so we ask them to help us and pray for us." ~ from the section "Do Orthodox Christians Pray to Saints?", The St. Nicholas Day Snow, by Charlotte Riggle
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"St. Nicholas was always a popular saint. By the Middle Ages, there were thousands of churches dedicated to him, with more than four hundred in England alone." ~ from the section "Why is St. Nicholas Sometimes Called Santa Claus?", The St. Nicholas Day Snow, by Charlotte Riggle
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Find additional information about the life of St. Nicholas in this blog post from the OCA.
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Teachers with younger students may want to utilize this series of icons of St. Nicholas' life as they tell his story to their class. Print a second set to make a "memory game" to review his life after introducing the story.
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Find suggestions of other books about St. Nicholas, as well as hands-on suggestions for celebrating St. Nicholas Day (Sunday Church School service project, anyone?) in this blog post.
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Encourage older students to research St. Nicholas and try to find out more about what people ask him to pray about. (Ie: why is he the patron saint of sailors? Of children? Of travelers?)
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Why are there golden balls featured throughout the book The St. Nicholas Day Snow? And why do parents often place oranges in their children's shoes on St. Nicholas Day? Find out on this informational page.
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Before sharing The St. Nicholas Day Snow with your students, ask them how their family celebrates (or does not celebrate) St. Nicholas Day. Share the story with them, and discuss the differences between the girls' families' celebrations. Is one right and one wrong? (This is an excellent opportunity to talk a bit about "lower case t" traditions in the Orthodox Church!) Find additional information about St. Nicholas Day celebrations in the back of the book! Find even more here.
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It is always interesting to learn some of the "back story" about a book. Ask your students why they think The St. Nicholas Day Snow author Charlotte Riggle wrote this book. Then, read them her reasons for writing it, which she shares in her blog post.
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