Today, November 25th, is the feast of Christ the King.
It is ALSO the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria… And, since she is one of Twinkle Toes’ patron Saints, it is an extra special day at our home.
I love the story of St. Catherine. She is known as the patron saint of young girls. You can read more about her here.
One of our favorite books about her, which we read today, is called A Story of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was originally published in 1965, and had been out of print. However, it has been reprinted by Newman Press. I just love how all these wonderful old books are now being made available once again! I highly recommend it.
The book is described as follows:
This is a magnificent story of another of God’s great saints, an example to young girls and Catholics of all ages and times. Catherine was born a pagan princess of Egypt, the land of the Sphinx and Pyramids. In her thirst for knowledge and wisdom she soon grew into a wise and very lovely young woman. This is an account of Catherine’s conversion to Christianity, her ascension to the throne as Queen of Alexandria, the persecution of her Christian subjects by the Romans and her own suffering at the hands of the Emperor for her love of Christ. Beautifully illustrated.
This past summer, Daddy missed Twinkle Toes birthday, since he was out fighting forest fires… So, I decided we would have cake for her “Saints Day” this year as well.
There is an old custom that originated in France, that on St. Catherine’s Day, heart-shaped cakes are given to young women who have reached the age of twenty-five and are still single. This is to encourage them in their search for love.
Now, as you know… my girls are no where NEAR the age of 25 and I’m not going to “encourage them in their search for love” 🙂 I just thought it would be fun to make, just the same. It must be my Inner French coming out!
Any ways, I found these directions on how to make a Heart Cake which were quite easy. And, even though it looked a little out of balance, Twinkle Toes LOVED it!
(My hands are now indefinitely blotched with red from the food coloring that I used to make the frosting pink… I’m still not sure how it got all over my hands!)
As a gift, she received The Little Match Girl. This is another great title featured in our Catholic Mosaic book study. It is so nice to have these extra excuses feast days to add books to our collection!
Well, It has been a very busy week… I am off to finish preparing for this coming week… Getting back into the “school” routine after a holiday is always a challenge for me! I will leave you with a beautiful prayer to St. Catherine. Goodnight and God Bless!
Glorious Saint Catherine, virgin and martyr,
Help me to imitate your love of purity.
Give me strength and courage
In fighting off the temptations of the world and evil desires.
Help me to love God with my whole heart
And serve Him faithfully.
O Saint Catherine,
Through your glorious martyrdom for the love of Christ,
Help me to be loyal to my faith and my God
As long as I live.
She looks so sweet! Great cake too 🙂
Happy Feast Day goddaughter! You are sweetheart with a heart shaped cake!