Nativity Fast  (and Feast)

For the Family:

Fasting Season: 

Welcoming the Christ Child by Elissa Bjeletich

• • • Daily readings similar to the Jesse Tree for the 40 days of the Nativity Fast

Saint Nicholas Day: 

Saint Nicholas Day Snow by Charlotte Riggle

• • • A picture book telling different traditions around the story of Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins by Jim Forest

• A beautiful picture book showing Saint Nicholas as a compassionate defender of the poor, an almsgiver, and a bold witness to Christ. You can't go wrong with a Jim Forest book.

The Miracle of Saint Nicholas by Gloria Whelan

• Another beautiful picture book, this one is historical fiction about the re-opening of a church after the communist era. A well-told story, this one is a pleasure to read aloud.

Other Christmas Books:

Prepare O Bethlehem by Niko Chocheli 

• Accompanies texts from the hymns of Nativity with unique illustrations. 

Uncle Vova's Tree by Patricia Polacco

• Many of Patricia Polacco's books have icons tucked into the illustrations. This one is about her memories of celebrating Christmas / Theophany with her Uncle Vladimir ("Vova").

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco

• Will Father make it back for Christmas to give each child an orange on the mantel?

Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco

• This Polacco book is about a family trying to  save the Christmas service at their church by bringing a tapestry in. This one is pretty long and does end up touching on the Holocaust of WW2, so it may be better for older children. It is very touching and weaves so many threads to create a beautiful story of endurance, history, love and providence.

Baboushka by Arthur Scholey

• In this story, Baboushka is too busy  cleaning to see the bright star in the sky, so she misses seeing the Christ Child. In our house, we read this every year and we have a Babushka figurine with her little candle (ceramic) that we hide around the house for the children to find.

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo

• A beautiful story of a child touched by the need of a stranger and  how she shares it in a Christmas pageant.

The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola

• This is another author you can hardly go wrong with. This tells the Christmas story from the point of view of the birds.

We Were There by Eve Bunting

• A lovely one to read aloud as animals of all shapes and sizes bear witness to the miracle of Christ's birth.  Even the scorpion and the snake  are featured. 

The Story of Christmas illustrated by Pamela Dalton

• This one just has the text of the account of Christ's birth in scripture (from the King James Version), but the illustrations are so beautiful that it's worth purchasing. As a bonus, it does portray St. Joseph the Betrothed as an old man.

The Barn and the Book by Melinda Johnson

• A chapter book for older elementary kids, by the CEO of Ancient Faith Ministries, showing how God shines light into our darkness and set at Christmastime.

Winter Stories Not to Miss:

The Adventures of Father Evangelos  

• Father Evangelos struggles to make it out of a snowed-in forest to celebrate the Divine Liturgy.  This book is one of many wonderful offerings from Potamitis  Publishing. 

The Sleepy Bear and the Golden Whispers by Mka. T. Anne Mancuso

• This book illustrates the remarkable true story of a bear that saved the life of the Russian New Martyr, Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsy and is one of the best examples of a story infused with prayer.

Mother Culture:

The Winter Pascha and Meditations for Advent are both classic Nativity devotional texts.