MCBD co-founder, Mia Wenjen, once stated an exceptionally true fact: “If you want to introduce young readers to new cultures, races, faiths and geographic regions, the two best ways to do that is via food and books.”
SO TRUE.
That fact rings true with long-time MCBD supporter and long-term Medallion Level Sponsor, Charlotte Riggle and her book, Catherine’s Pascha: A Celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church
About Catherine’s Pascha
Pascha is the word Orthodox Christians most often use for Easter. And while bookstores are full of picture books about Easter, she found nothing that depicted the joy of the Orthodox celebration of Pascha. “For us,” Charlotte says, “Pascha is like Christmas and New Year’s Eve and Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July all rolled up into one glorious celebration. It’s so full of joy and beauty you can hardly take it all in.”
Charlotte wanted to see all of this joy and beauty in a diverse picture book for kids. And she wanted the book to be as beautiful as Pascha itself. And so, when her children were still young, she wrote Catherine’s Pascha: A Celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church.
“It took 20 years,” Charlotte admits, “but I finally found a publisher who had the same vision for the book as I did. Phoenix Flair is a micropress, and the woman who runs it, Becky Hughes, is not only a publisher, she’s also an artist. She brought so much to the book. When she’d send me preliminary illustrations, I’d often find myself with tears in my eyes. Her drawings were so beautiful and so true.”
Charlotte and Becky both wanted the illustrations in the book to depict the universality of Pascha. As they collaborated to fill the pages of Catherine’s Pascha with words that sparkle and illustrations that glow with the joy of the feast, they agreed that the story should include a child with a significant visible disability. And so it came to pass that Catherine’s best friend, Elizabeth, uses a wheelchair and leg braces as she participates fully in the service and celebrations.
It’s Pascha (Easter) and two little girls are trying to stay awake all night for the traditional service. Catherine (with her friend, who happens to be in a wheelchair) is nervous that she won’t be able to stay awake, or remember to say “Christ is risen!” in Russian. The excitement of playing with the candles, smashing the hard-boiled eggs, and eating traditional sweets gives us a glimpse into the customs of the Orthodox Easter celebration.
It’s Pascha (Easter) and two little girls are trying to stay awake all night for the traditional service. Catherine (with her friend, who happens to be in a wheelchair) is nervous that she won’t be able to stay awake, or remember to say “Christ is risen!” in Russian. The excitement of playing with the candles, smashing the hard-boiled eggs, and eating traditional sweets gives us a glimpse into the customs of the Orthodox Easter celebration.
Catherine’s Pascha: A Celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church was also was a finalist in the 2015 Best Book Awards.
Catherine’s Pascha captures beautifully the enthusiasm and excitement a child feels and experiences on Pascha. The Feast of Feasts, the brightest day in the Orthodox Church, what wonderful subject matter to share with a child on any day of the year. My wholehearted congratulations on producing such a joy-filled book!~Jane G Meyer, author of The Hidden Garden and The Man and the Vine
Using Food to Teach Readers about Pascha
Children learn more from books when you connect events in the story to activities you engage them in. Using the “books and food” concept of introducing kids to new things, there are so many ways to use recipes inspired by Catherine’s Pascha to educate.
Because Orthodox Christians abstain from meat and dairy during Lent, their celebration of Pascha includes festive foods with lots of meat and dairy. Here are some yummy ideas to try:
Culinary arts
Make honey bunnies, the sweet bunny-shaped yeast rolls that Catherine’s mom makes for their Pascha celebration.
(Catherine doesn’t mention bacon-wrapped dates as she narrates the story. But in the “frames” around the illustrations, you can read things that were being said around her. And that’s where you’ll find the bacon-wrapped dates!)
Let your children plan a menu using only the foods mentioned in Catherine’s Pascha.
Create Your Own Pascha Celebration
Looking for more unique and fun ways to incorporate learning about Pascha into homeschool lessons and weekend fun? Then you will love the plethora of ideas and resources below. And these are not just for little ones! Tweens and teens will enjoy some of these as well.
Art
In the Orthodox tradition, Easter eggs are almost always a rich, deep, vibrant red. You can combine a simple science experiment with an art project when you use onion skins to dye red eggs and make beautiful Pascha ornaments.
In Ukraine, rather than red eggs, people make elaborate eggs made with traditional techniques going back centuries before the coming of Christianity. Learn about pysanky eggs.
Orthodox Christians bring their decorated eggs and festive foods to church in large wicker baskets covered with embroidered cloths. You can share the history of Easter baskets, and make a beautiful basket cover. Teens and tweens can use Peter’s Basket embroidery pattern. Younger children can make a simple basket cover using ribbons, lace, and fabric paint.
Globe Trottin’ Kids has a wonderful book review with egg coloring printable available.
A unique project involves creating a glass icon using traditional Romanian reverse glass techniques.
Extending the learning
For home-school or classroom use, the engaging text and richly detailed illustrations in Catherine’s Pascha offer fun ways to connect the book with lessons in history, geography, and language arts.
In the background of each page, you’ll see Orthodox churches from every continent on earth – including Antarctica!
- Place each church in Catherine’s Pascha on a world map or globe.
- Select one of the churches in Catherine’s Pascha and learn as much about it as you can. Write a brief paper explaining what you learned, or talk about it with an adult or another child.
- Some of the illustrations in Catherine’s Pascha include animals. Younger children can do an “I Spy” game to find all the animals. Older children can select one of the animals, and research its range, habitat, diet, and behavior, then explain whether it was realistic to include the animal in the illustration.
- Complete this word search puzzle.
- Older learners can use Catherine’s Pascha to practice the basic techniques of literary analysis.
- Read this excellent review and checklist activity from TheBarefootMommy.com
More Multicultural Easter Book Recommends
Easter Picture Books Keep Pascha Present: You might be tempted to put the Easter picture books away during Bright Week. Don’t do it! By keeping them out, you’ll help your little one understand that Easter lasts more than a single day.
Six Exceptional Multicultural Easter Books: If you’re looking for books that show the ways that people celebrate Easter, look here.
17 essential picture books for Orthodox Christian kids: If you’re looking for picture books that include stories about Orthodox Christian people and traditions, you’ll find them on this list.
Enjoy your Pascha celebration!
About The Author of Catherine’s Pascha
Author Charlotte Riggle
When asked what inspires her to write a book like Catherine’s Pascha, Charlotte had this to say;
“What I wanted most of all was a story about families celebrating Pascha. A story that showed the traditions that we keep, the customs that surround this holiest of holy days, and one filled with wonder, joy, and beauty. I also wanted to watch my children open a book, and recognize themselves in the pages as if the book were a mirror. That desire has now extended to other young readers all over the globe as well.”
Charlotte shares faith, hope, and picture books on her website, on Facebook and Pinterest, and on Instagram.
We also discovered a bounty of yummy Pascha recipes on her site as well! And she shares homemade cookies whenever she can. Sign up for her newsletter and get a dozen of her favorite cookie recipes!
About The Illustrator
Illustrator, Editor and Publisher Becky Hughes, has a degree in art from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana and came to be a book illustrator a roundabout way.
Initially, she started as a jeweler’s apprentice, then worked as a museum archivist for the USS Silversides Museum in Muskegon Michigan. Part of that job was creating graphics, images, and text for exhibits. It was while she worked at the USS Silversides Museum that she met Mr. Al Jacobson, the last surviving member of the USS Flier’s final patrol. Jacobson was desperate his story not die with him so his lost crewmates would have a memorial. Hughes and Jacobson worked together to produce the story, Surviving the Flier, and Hughes supplied the graphics work for that book, as well as the USS Flier Project blog.
Those graphics caught the eye of her freelance editor, who was instrumental in connecting her to author Charlotte Riggle. Since that day, illustrating children’s books has become her passion.
