St. Joseph Shares Another Christmas Tradition.

Shopping is done, presents unwrapped, unwanted gifts returned….now what?

More presents!

Three Kings Day, celebrated 12 days after Christmas on January 6 is the origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  This holiday celebrates the visit of the three wise men, bearing gifts to the infant Jesus.  The holiday is also called the Epiphany.

If you don’t already celebrate this holiday, here are some tips to start this year:

Have your children (or adults) fill their shoes with grass (Easter basket style) and set them under their beds.

Share the story of the Three Kings.  Here’s a great one from Christmas Stories.

After they have gone to bed (early of course, just like Christmas Eve), empty out the grass, and fill the shoes with trinkets, candies, and small presents that you may have forgotten on Christmas.

Wake up on January 6th and enjoy!

Stay Stress Free This Holiday Season.

Photo by catface3We at Ecojoe know the holidays can be such a stressful time for people, and we forget to find time for ourselves.  It can be difficult to sneak away for some of the normal “me” activities that can relieve stress and keep us balanced.

Centering prayer is a popular method of Christian meditation, placing a strong emphasis on interior silence.

Here are some key elements of centering prayer technique:

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.
Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the Lord’s presence and open to His divine action within you (i.e. “Jesus”, “Lord,” “God,” “Savior,” “Abba,” “Divine,” “Shalom,” “Spirit,” “Love,” etc.).
Let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the Lord’s presence and open to His divine action within you.
Whenever you become aware of anything (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc.), simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.

Photo by h.koppdelaneyThrough these instructions on centering seem very formal, it’s actually just the simple practice of being still and clearing your mind of lots of the clutter that we worry about, especially when we get busy with the decorating, the gift buying, the cooking, and one holiday party after another.  Centering prayer is not much different than other types of meditation practiced by other faiths, and there are plenty of non-religious versions of meditating that can be very calming during the holiday season.

Finding this quiet time can be the perfect gift for yourself!

Christmas Around the World with St. Joseph.

Now that we’ve gotten past Thanksgiving, it’s time to celebrate our favorite time of the year: Christmas! We know that St. Joseph is honored in different parts of the world in different ways:  as the human father figure of Jesus Christ, as the patron saint of carpenters and the home, and as a good luck charm in selling real estate.  During Christmas, St. Joseph tends to take a back burner as Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  Here are three Christmas traditions from around the world:

In our last post we talked a little about the traditional Nativity Scene.  In Brazil, they call this the Presépio.  The word origins from the Hebrew word “presepium” which means the bed of straw upon which Jesus first slept in Bethlehem. The Presépio is common in northeastern Brazil The Presépio was introduced in the 17th century, in the city of Olinda in the state of Pernambuco by a Franciscan friar named Gaspar de Santo Agostinho. Nowadays presépios are set up in December and displayed in churches, homes, and stores.  These Nativity Scenes are lifelike human sized figures or even live displays.

Christmas in Australia is celebrated just like it might be in the United States, with one tiny twist:  it is a summer holiday! There is a lot of concern about Santa Claus perhaps suffering heat stroke whilst Down Under. “Swag Man” wears a brown Akubra, a blue singlet and long baggy shorts. He spends all winter under Uluru with his merry dingoes and then at Christmas time, he gets in his huge four-wheel drive and sets off through the red dust to deliver his presents.

Christmas in Spain is a very religious holiday.  The country’s patron saint is the Virgin Mary.  The Christmas season officially begins on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.  The feast is celebrated each year in front of the great Gothic cathedral in Seville with a ceremony called Los Seises or “the dance of six.”  The ritual dance is performed by ten costumed boys.  Also celebrated in Spain is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Young boys of a town or village light bonfires and one of them acts as the mayor who orders townspeople to perform civic chores such as sweeping the streets. Refusal to comply results in fines which are used to pay for the celebration.  In Spain they also celebrate The Feast of the Three Kings, where children leave their shoes out and receive more gifts — this time from the Magi traveling to bring gifts to the baby Jesus.

What are some unique traditions that your family will celebrate at Christmas?

Source:  Learn more about how Christmas is celebrated around the World here.

SOLD! St Joseph Statue Worked Its Wonders Again.

We got a really nice fan testimonial on our Facebook Page this week! WOOHOO!

Very happy that EcoJoe has done its wonders again. Don’t forget about our December Special! 40% OFF!

Buy your Saint Joseph Statue Home Selling Kit today!

Want EcoJoe Tees? Use this link to purchase. Don’t forget your discount code WS2010 at check out!

STORE WIDE WINTER SALE! Buy Your St Joseph Statue at 40% Off!.

So.. We thought about a Black Friday sale. And a Small Saturday sale. Then maybe a Cyber Monday sale?

Nah, we decide to GO BIG!! After all, Christmas is coming. What better way to celebrate the holidays with a month-wide sale??

For ALL December, the entire line of EcoJoe merchandise is on sale for 40% off! Yes, you read that right, FORTY PERCENT! Just enter this discount code at check out: WS2010. And yes, for orders over $50 we are still doing free shipping!

Buy your Saint Joseph Statue Home Selling Kit today!

Want EcoJoe Tees? Use this link to purchase. Don’t forget your discount code WS2010 at check out!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND UPCOMING BLACK DECEMBER SALE!.

Hello there!

We want to thank you all for supporting us for the past 1+ years. We really cannot exist without all your support, whether you are clients, supporters/ “fans” on Facebook, vendors or our blog readers. We really could not have done it in this economy without you. We are incredibly grateful to you. So have a fantastic Thanksgiving with your love ones! We are gearing up in December to plan out a rocking 2011 with lots of fun stuff for you!

To celebrate you, we will be holding a “Black December” sale throughout entire December where you can load up good deals for EcoJoe products. We will be announcing the deals on upcoming Monday (Cyber Monday).

In the meanwhile, please don’t forget to support small businesses on Saturday!

The History of the Nativity Set.

Time to start taking out your Christmas decorations! Many people include a Nativity Set as part of their decor, either on a fireplace mantle or under their Christmas tree. St. Joseph, the foster father of baby Jesus on earth plays a big role in the Nativity Set.

The Nativity Set can be traced back at least to St. Francis time.  It normally consists of a building, the characters, and a backdrop.  Depending on the history or part of the world, these can be represented by different art forms and include figurines made of wood, stone, plastic, or paper.

Many people can get very creative with their Nativity Sets, and some even collect a new one every year.  Here are our favorites:

This unique set from the Philippines is made of rolled recycled newspaper and includes the three kings, who brought gifts to baby Jesus after he was born.  Definitely eco-friendly and festive!

This colorful set from Vietnam is also made from recycled paper.  You can see how it is very different from a traditional Nativity Set, and the characters present are playful and not serious or somber. As you can see, recycled paper materials have been VERY in this season. We certainly had seen it at Green Festival this year, as well as many gift and trade shows floors.

This very traditional set made from olive wood from the west bank includes all of the elements mentioned earlier and more.  It is a full set that includes the manger, the animals and the kings bearing gifts.

You can learn more about the tradition of the Nativity Set at Christmas Decorations and Gifts.  Remember, Ecojoe would make a great stand in for any of these sets : )

It’s Not Too Early to Start Planning for Eco-Friendly Gift Giving!.

This holiday season: Think Eco-Friendly!!

Don’t let the holidays sneak up on you! Start browsing around now for some great gifts. Here are a collection our five favorites this week!

For your favorite coffee drinker — a cute way to always have a cozy sleeve for your cup and a stylish bracelet!

Need a unique Christmas card idea? These wooden postcards make great holiday greeting cards and your friends and family won’t mind saving them as part of the following year’s decorations!

Love these bags from BlueQ made from post-consumer material. And 1% of all bag sales go to the Nature Conservancy. A cute way to give twice!

For your favorite little one, the Green Toys Tool Set. You can feel good about giving this gift knowing that the little plastic pieces won’t end up a landfill for a gazillion years.

Don’t forget, EcoJoe is an awesome gift! St. Joe can replace your missing St. Joseph statue for a nativity set, provide some extra blessings for a friend selling a home, or stand guard on a fireplace mantel as part of your holiday decor.

New Home Traditions.

Photo by baralbionSo you’ve buried your St. Joseph statue, sold your house in record time, packed all your belongings and moved into a new home — Now what?  

Depending on the circumstances, starting again in a new house can be a nerve wracking task.  Unpacking boxes, arranging your furniture in new spaces, filling empty spaces.  Many people have certain traditions that they like to do when moving into a new place.  

Some of these traditions are cultural and some are simply personal.  For example, rice is usually the first thing that is brought into many Filipino homes.  It represents good luck and more practically, that there will always be something to eat.  

Photo by Talke PhotographyHere are some other new home traditions:  

* Homeowner throws coins on housewarming day to bring good luck.

* Open the east window in the morning to let God’s grace in.

* Have your home blessed for safety and good fortune.

* Friends coming to a new home must enter through the front doors.

* Hang braided/strands of garlic to drive bad spirit away.

Once you unpack your things, shop for new things to fill those empty spaces and clean off your St. Joseph statue and place him on your fireplace mantel, what are your traditions?

Source:  Philippine Customs and Traditions

Celebrate All Saints Day with EcoJoe!.

While many think of this past Halloween weekend as a celebration of all things scary and evil, this is a very important week in the Catholic religion.  November 1st is All Saints Day, and November 2nd is All Souls Day.

While every Saint is celebrated on their special day, (the Feast of St. Joe is on March 19th)  All Saints Day or the Feast of All Saints celebrates all known and unknown saints.  In fact, Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve, or the Eve of the Feast of All Saints. Although many think of Halloween as a pagan holiday, the custom of masks and costumes developed to make fun of evil and perhaps confuse the evil spirits by dressing as one of their own. According to Churchyear.net, this is the root of our modern day “trick-or-treat.”

All Souls Day is celebrated the next day, and many cultures have adapted this holiday to closely mirror the Halloween holiday.  This day celebrates the faithful departed.  Many families will visit cemeteries to honor the members of their family that have passed away.  Lots of people will leave not only flowers and gifts, but snacks and other food for their dearly departed.

While you’re busy sorting your Halloween candy this week, remember the celebration goes on a few more days with these two very important holidays!

Fear the Beard!.

So Giants won Game 1 last night and it’s going forth with its Game 2 today. Many believe that Brian Wilson’s beard had lent some good luck to the winning streak. Let’s lend out EcoJoe’s as well! GO GIANTS!!!

GO GIANTS GO!

Our latest reviews from Amazon.com!.

Really, how blessed are we? Glad people are finding EcoJoe as a useful product!

Our favorite ones include:

“Cute idea, love the packaging. Great quality…hope my house sells soon and I can dig him up and keep inside our new home. More expensive than other options, but I think it was worth it for the quality.”

“After 10 months trying to sell our house, and 8 weeks without a single phone call, we showed our house the day that Eco Joe arrived, and that couple bought it. Worked BEAUTIFULLY, even before we buried the statue. ”

“Eleven days after planting him we have a signed deal! Gratitude and Prayers, Eco Joe! Love the green aspects. I will be leaving him in the ground to bless the new owner.”

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