Friday the 13th!.

Photo by Leo Reynolds
Photo by Leo Reynolds
Photo by Leo ReynoldsHello friends, happy Friday the 13th!

Here are a few fun facts about the Friday the 13th superstition / myth:

Who will design the Next EcoJoe Packaging?!.

Do you love design?

Do you love EcoJoe?

Would you like to design the next EcoJoe packaging???

We at EcoJoe HQ has been tossing and turning trying to think of new ideas and how we can make our product better. Now the 1-year anniversary is looming upon us (in a week!), we thought, hey, what if we do a smaller packaging? Less packaging, less recycled paper, less soy based ink needed to produce products. And less stuff to recycle! Not to mention we always want to break the myth that “Green products will cost more.” A smaller packaging will definitely help us to accomplish the goal of making EcoJoe more affordable!

There are only two rules:

1) We are looking for a design that is easy to print and can be easily put on a t shirt (because guess what, the winning design will be put on the packaging and our 1-year anniversary tees). So only ONE color can be used on the packaging box. That said, you are not limited to black on white box.
2) We want a rectangle box that EcoJoe can snugly fit inside of it: 1 5/8″ W x 4 3/4″ H x 1 3/15″D

The logistics:

Deadline for submission is midnight PST, August 28, 2010. Submit your design electronically to 2010Pac@ecojoekits.com. If you want to submit a mock up/ 3D model of what your packaging will look like, take lots of photos and submit them electronically. If selected as a finalist, we will post the best photos on Facebook and our blog for voting.

The staff at EcoJoe HQ will select 3 finalists to showcase and put it to our community to select the final winner from August 29 through September 3rd.

The final winner will receive:

1) $500 CASH Prize
2) Your design will be exposed to our 3000+ fans on social media (like www.facebook.com/ecojoe ; www.twitter.com/ecojoe)
3) Your design will be printed on EcoJoe’s 1-year Anniversary Tee shirt
4) Your design will be printed on the next EcoJoe packaging coming out in 2011!

Please note: By submitting your design, you grant us folks at EcoJoe permission to use your images, artwork, submissions for present and future usage (like posting on Facebook, blog, for people to vote).

Questions? Email 2010Pac@ecojoekits.com

Are you a believer of Paul the Octopus?.

Are you a believer of Paul the Octopus?

So many people are still debating if Pauly the Octopus can predict the future, just like many still debate if burying Saint Joseph statues can indeed guarantee a speedy sale. But hey, 8 out of 8 predictions for World Cup 2010 is pretty darn good.  What do you think?

By the way, Paul has become such an icon, he now has his own iPhone app:

Do you want an iPhone app for Saint Joseph?

Image source

Image source

Image source

St. Joseph Honors the Ghost Festival Tradition this Week.

While we at EcoJoe love to share interesting traditions from the Catholic religion, we also enjoy sharing traditions from other faiths. 

Image Source

This week, from July 13 to 15, Buddhists in Japan will celebrate Ullambana O-bon, the Japanese version of the widely celebrated Ghost Festival. In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. 

Both Buddhists and Taoists claim that the Ghost Festival originated with their religion but its roots are probably in Chinese folk religion.

During this festival, families pay respect to their deceased ancestors with visits and gifts at their burial sites.   This is very similar to the tradition celebrated by Catholics in Mexico, Dia de Los Muertos. 

Photo by Mimi_KFamily members offer prayers to their deceased relatives, offer food and drink and burn joss paper. Such paper items are only valid in the underworld, which is why they burn it as an offering to the ghosts of their relatives.  The afterlife is very similar in some aspects to the material world.  The tradition says that the paper versions of material goods will provide comfort to their relatives in the afterlife. People will also burn other things such as paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts.

Burying a St. Joseph statue in the ground doesn’t seem so strange after all, now does it?

Rising From the Ground or Buried Underneath, More About St. Joe’s Miracles.

We know about St. Joseph, but what do we know about St. Joseph of Cupertino?

A Franciscan friar, born in 1603 — this St. Joseph was best known for miracles that he performed over and over again.  Over seventy times, during mass or prayer, people saw him rise from the ground — floating in mid air!!

Learn more about St. Joseph of St. Cupertino.

Superstition Friday: Summer Brides Take Note, A Statue May Save Your Day.

Photo by tabrandtSince June seems to be the month of weddings galore, we thought we would do some digging on wedding superstitions for this month’s Superstition Friday.

Catholic Statue?

Saintly Intervention?

Sound familiar?

It’s not St. Joseph this time but a small statue of the Virgin Mary that is called on for extra help, not for selling homes but for a sunny wedding day.

Photo by Lawrence OPDifferent sources have different versions, but it sounds like if you put a tiny statue of the Virgin Mary in your windowsill, facing outwards at least one week before your wedding day (and say a small prayer), you can increase your chances of having a sunny wedding day.  Looks like St. Joseph won’t be the only saint performing miracles this summer.

Just in case you need to have extra wedding bliss, you can read more about wedding superstitions here.

St. Joseph Gets Some Facetime with the Pope in the Vatican Gardens.

Image Source

On July 5, 2010 the Pope dedicated the 100th Vatican fountain to none other than St. Joseph.  Located in the Vatican gardens, this fountain was dedicated to St. Joseph and was commissioned to pay homage to the Pope and his given name, Joseph.

In an address translated from Italian, the Pope said the fountain “represents a symbolic reminder of the values of simplicity and humility in accomplishing God’s will every day…”

The was designed by by Italian artist Franco Murer and is decorated by six bronze panels depicting different scenes from St. Joseph’s life and service.  The address by the Pope goes on to describe St. Joseph and how he lived his life with humility and trust.  An especially thoughtful part of the address highlights how St. Joseph carries out his service to others and activities in silence.

Summer can be a good time to do volunteer work and perform services for others.  This has been a busy summer for St. Joseph.  Have you spent any time this summer helping others?

Watch a newscast of the dedication here:  Vatican’s 100th Fountain Dedicated to St. Joseph

“St. Joseph – Sell My House!”.

Special thanks to realtor Jennifer Davis, who wrote a great blog sharing the legend behind St. Joseph and how he is helping home sellers everywhere.  We love to read about different ways that others in the real estate industry share this very interesting tradition. Jenn’s blog mentions that many St Joseph statues are still left behind even when the properties had sold, this is the exact problem EcoJoe solves! It’s great to have the eco-friendly alternative to resolve issues like this.

Here is what she wrote:

St. Joseph is the patron saint of real estate matters and home sales. In this recovering market, as some homes languish on the market, the practice of using a St. Joseph statue has become increasingly popular to aid in the sale of homes.

The custom begins with burying a St. Joseph statue upside in the front lawn. If you do not have a front lawn, a potted plant will suffice. Place the statue head down, facing east, and cover the hole. Some say his feet should be facing heaven and his head facing the home (which may not be east-facing). Some say it should face the street or face the “for sale” sign. But there is agreement that his head should be buried upside down.

There is a prayer that needs to be said at this point and that prayer usually comes with the St. Joseph packaging. When the property sells, you must dig up the statue, clean it off, and carry it to your new home where it should be kept in a place of dignity or honor (fireplace mantle, for example). I bet there are many St. Joseph statues still buried upside down and forgotten. I wonder what happened with the subsequent sale of that property?

Of course, none of the sales could be complete without a top notch real estate agent. But that is another discussion for another time. I can send you the St. Joseph prayer; simply email me at jdavis@mcguire.com.

See Jenn Davis’ original St Joseph statue post here.

Around the World Wednesday: South Africa Welcomes ‘Die Hardste Werk Saint in Real Estate!’.

In honor of the World Cup this year, St. Joseph — the hardest working Saint in Real Estate — took a break from his day job and headed to Cape Town, South Africa to catch the games.

Ok — not really.

So St. Joe didn’t make it to the World Cup this year, but he was there in spirit.  And some students from St. Joseph’s Primary School (let’s just call them Ambassadors for St. Joe) were caught in the cutest photographs ever, faces painted and all — cheering on their respective teams from Trafalgar Square.

We think that’s close enough to do this month’s Around the World Wednesday from South Africa.  Don’t you?  (Image Source)

A Special Send Off for St. Joseph.

We found this jewel of a blog by Barb, a Catholic teacher in Nebraska — and *loved* the party they threw for St. Joseph!!  Here’s a quick summary:

Jo, a good friend of Barb’s, is a Religious Education coordinator for three separate parishes in Nebraska.  When The Sisters of the Good Shepherd closed up their convent 21 years ago, they held an auction and she became the proud owner of a 5foot statue of St. Joseph.  She had a special devotion to St. Joseph and and made the statue a center piece in her home.

Recently, Jo learned that the Immaculate Conception Church was in need of  St. Joseph statue — and thought it would make a nice gift to the church and the perfect place to pass on the special piece to.  She held a special send off party at her home, along with special blessings from a group of her 11 closest friends.  They prayed the rosary and reflected on the life of St. Joseph and on the different ways St. Joseph had touched their lives.

After St. Joe takes a quick visit to a local Religious restoration shop he will be moved to his new home at Immaculate Conception.  We’ll check back in with Barb in Nebraska to see how it goes!! (Image Source, credit to Barb’s Flickr stream)  Make sure you visit her great blog!

Don’t miss details of our upcoming party to celebrate EcoJoe’s FIRST BIRTHDAY in August!! Join our Facebook page to make sure you get your invite!

EcoJoe Celebrates the Official Start of Summer.

YAY! Summer is officially here! St. Joe will be busy this summer helping folks sell their homes, but as summer starts this week, we want to share some tips to stay green this season!

Bamboo Dinner Plates ~ Say goodbye to paper-plates for those summer BBQ’s, these disposable bamboo plates are disposable and biodegrade within six months of use.

Find alternatives to staying cool ~ Give your air conditioner (and electricity bill) a break by opening your windows at night and letting the evening breeze cool your home!   Buy a Deluxe Misting fan.  These are really inexpensive and can give you a nice splash of energy when you’re feeling hot and lethargic.

Be conservative with your water ~ Water usage is a big deal throughout the US, especially during the summer.  Watch what you use, only water plants when necessary, and use a rain barrel to collect water for extra watering.

Shop Local ~ Check out your local farmer’s markets for fresh fruits and vegetables.  They are a great place to shop and can help you make sure the the food on your table didn’t travel hundreds of miles to get there.  Local Harvest can help you find farmers markets, family farms and other resources to help keep your table green.

And don’t forget, there are plenty of reasons that summer is the best time to sell your home. If you are putting your house on the market this summer and need some extra intervention? Opt out of the traditional plastic St. Joseph statues and go with one of our earth-friendly EcoJoes!

What Do St. Joseph and Yoga Have in Common?.

Photo by jousteWe at EcoJoe’s are always fascinated to find references to St. Joseph all around the world.  This is an interesting one, integrating traditional Catholicism with New Age holistic treatment.

The Society of Jesus, Mary & Joseph is one of the International Congregations in the Roman Catholic Church, founded by Rev. Fr. Mathias Wolff, S.J in 1822 in Holland, with a view to furthering the cause of women’s education in the world. Seven sisters of the Society of JMJ came to India in in 1904 and started their services in the Educational, Health and Social Sectors.

They founded St. Joseph’s Nature Cure and Yoga Centre at Pedda Kakkani,  a unique and integrated health care centre, based on the wisdom of the ancient healing process of Naturopathy and Ayurveda and in close collaboration with St. Joseph’s General Hospital, Guntur with its modern medical treatment and technology.  The inpatients and outpatients are treated and cured with herbal medication, water, sun, mud therapies, massages, fasting, dieting, yogasanas, meditation, and prayer.