Shalom to Winter!Winter may have a few weeks left, but the trees and the birds seem to say differently. Those trees and birds are signaling the good people around the globe to prepare for the arrival of Spring. Where there is Spring, we can’t usually help but to think about Easter. Before Easter, though, there’s much to do to get ready. For many of us, that “getting ready” time is called Lent. Lent can be confusing — especially if you are a Little. Here’s a snippet from our master storyboard we created as the girls and I developed our books. “Is Lent a real word?” “Is it like a loan?” “Is it when God lends us more sunshine?” Well, now, that last question was intriguing. So we got busy researching the topic. And here’s what we discovered. Lent means “lengthening” as in longer periods of daylight in Spring. The Brits and the Germans both lay claim to the word so it definitely wasn’t anything related to our ancestors of Little Jesus’ time. So it’s no wonder that we associate Lent with Spring. Both Christianity and Judaism set aside times each year to focus on prayer and service to others. For Jews, those times include Passover and Yom Kippur. For Christians, this special time is called Lent which ends with the celebration of renewal at Easter. We don’t feature an “Easter” story in The Little Jesus Chronicles because, well, He was an adult when that happened. We do explore Jewish traditions such as Yom Kippur in our book Little Jesus and the Wiggly Tooth. While this year the 24-hour period of Yom Kippur begins at sunset on September 20, the story of reflection and atonement is perfect during Lent as well. If you are inclined to splurge on friends and families with gifts and goodies at Easter, don’t forget Little Jesus storybooks. We have something for everyone! Order now from our online store and we will personalize the books with a sweet inscription. If you act soon, you’ll have truly special goodies for your Easter gifting. For a recap of the short month of February, keep reading!
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