The Real St. Nicholas: Tales of Generosity and Hope From Around the World,   ISBN:9780835608138

Customer Rating: 

Our extended family~~our grown children, but also young nieces and nephews and their parents, were talking about how we could add more meaning to the holiday season (from Halloween through the New Year)to reinforce 'our family' rather than just focus on Shopping/Gift Lists and the 'Santa Claus Syndrome'. We came up with the idea that we would add more theme and 'ritual' to traditional minor feast days and holidays that were being overwhelmed by Xmas merchandising and the media blitz. The holidays we wanted to focus on were All Saints and All Souls Days, St. Nicholas Day, the Feast of Santa Lucia, and the weeks of Advent. So we looked into resources for storytelling, bedtime reading, crafts, and cooking/baking and sharing meals as a family group appropriate to each holiday.

Thus I ordered "The Real St. Nicholas" after reading about it on the St. Nichlolas Center website (where there is a huge amount of good and fun info about St. Nicholas). The book has a range of essays and stories, including the biography of the bishop, different legends from various European cultures and many stories to read aloud to small children. Several of the legends are also excellent if you want to hone your 'storytelling' skills by the fire. The book also includes some classic illustrations and a few recipes for traditional St. Nicholas baking. I think it's a keeper for the family library and will be used for years to come.

Customer Rating: 

I had been looking for a book that gave the story of St Nicholas that I could read to my Grandchildren. This was the perfect book. It had all the stories about St. Nicholas from around the world. It was interesting to read the different stories about Bishop Nicholas depending on where you lived. Very Complete! A must for the "Bishop Nicholas" lover.