Living the Nativity Fast

The following is a compilation of information and resources I have come across over the years concerning the Nativity Fast.  The Nativity Fast, or Advent as it is often called, is one of the two great fasts of the year. The difference between it and great Lent, is of course, that during the Nativity fast we are anticipating a birth, so the atmosphere of this fast is one of happy anticipation. It can also be a difficult fast for the Orthodox, as the rest of the world is caught up in Christmas parties and celebrations full of the food and drink from which we fast. The following ideas are a collection of ways to commemorate the days of the fast without pre-celebrating the feast.
 Make the 15^th an event – Advent is different from Lent, where the  beginning is hard to miss, often the 15^th comes and goes with little notice taken.  Make the 15th a special day by starting family traditions to begin the fast.

Ideas: set your Christmas tree up the night before after the kids have gone to bed. Then spend the rest of the week slowly decorating it. Begin one of the many activities outlined below to mark the days of Advent - a Jesse tree, Advent calendar, prayer chain, or Advent wreath

Reserve special items that only come out during the fast - (in our house, all Nativity related books, toys, music and movies are stored away until Nov 15^th, then pulled out to enjoy during the season and packed up again on Jan 7^th )

Daily reminders

Below is a list of activities that can be done daily to help mark the fast – select from among these the ones that appeal to you and your family without becoming overwhelming.

Establish a family time and altar  If you do not already have one, this is a great time to start the habit of evening family prayers together – prayers, readings, lighting candles etc – these become the focal point of the fast.   When you receive Christmas cards – place those on your altar and pray for those people that evening.  If you have a table or piece of furniture available or even just a shelf, drape with a red cloth and place icons, candles

Advent wreath – can just be votive holders with candles and some greenery laid around it – some people use colored candles to mark the Sundays, others just use beeswax candles.  One idea is to decorate the candles with an icon for each Sunday of the fast (these commemorations fluctuate from year to year)  Another beautiful option is the wreath made by Ann Voskamp's son Caleb, our family has truly enjoyed celebrating the seasons of the year with this beautifully crafted piece.

Jesse Tree – a series of ornaments or symbols that begin with creation and track the story of our salvation through the Old Testament, ending with the birth of Christ.  There are many versions of this, and it may take time to create your own, but it can be a wonderful way to see the importance of the Incarnation in the scope of history.  There is also a lovely coloring page version of the Jesse Tree as an alternative (or to go along with) ornaments.

Advent Calendar – hung in a prominent place where the children can see it on a daily basis – there are paper ones that can be purchased, or you can make your own.  It can be very simple – of felt with items pinned on or elaborate with sewn pockets

Christmas Storybooks – in our house all of the books related to Christmas are wrapped up in inexpensive paper and placed under the tree on the 15^th of November.  Each evening, the children select a book to open and we read it together.  A basket is placed by the tree to contain the opened books, which are then revisited throughout the season.  We don’t attempt to have 40 books, 20 or so have been more than enough to keep us busy, and the children get very excited each year when they open old favorites they haven’t seen since last Christmas!  It’s like getting a whole new library of books each year.

Prayer chain – this can be used for one of several activities. Cut strips and staple into a chain.  Can track alms giving during Advent, use it as a prayer list of people to pray for each day (add someone new each day) or use it to count your blessings, writing something you are thankful for each day of the fast.  Hang your chain somewhere visible in the house and watch it grow through the fast.

Almgiving – in the spirit of St. Nicholas, try to find some way to involve your children in activities of giving – visit one of the shut ins in the church, let them send notes and Christmas cards to the shut ins of the region,

Christmas tree – Traditionally – Christmas eve (not very practical for most.  My family decorates the tree on the 15^th as our way of marking the start of the season (artificial of course) – if you use a live tree, St. Nicholas day (Dec 6) or St. Herman’s feast day (Dec. 13^th) are great days to mark with decorating the tree.

Nativity Sets

Wooden set children can handle and play with

Playmobil makes a wonderful set that makes for hours of play

Family set - one idea is to not place out all figures – make a star path with 40 stars from the manger across a table or shelf.  Mary moves one star closer each day – as she passes each star, it can be moved up onto a blue backdrop behind the nativity set until you have a full sky.  Alternative to using stars is to make a stone path (shown above).

The week before Christmas, place a new figure each day, let your kids come home from the Christmas liturgy to find the baby Jesus in the manger.

3. Mark the milestones of the fast –

Participate in the liturgies and activities offered by the church.

One way to mark these days, print off paper icons (from the internet) and put them into picture frame Christmas ornaments, hang each saint on the tree on his or her feast day

         
          Presentation of Theotokos – Nov 21^st

          St. Katherine – Nov 25^th

          St. Andrew – Nov 30^th

          St. Nicholas – Dec 6^th

          St. Barbara – Dec 4^th

          St. Herman – Dec 13^th

          St. Lucia – Dec 13^th

          St. Stephen – Dec 27^th

Icon coloring books – our favorites -  Potamitis Publishing

Read the lives of the saints (can be a bedtime activity or a part of the family altar time) we should spend at least as much time sharing these stories with our kids as we do sharing fairy tales and other books

4.    Celebrate Christmas!

Special meal after liturgy – helps to emphasize breaking of fast with young ones – special foods saved for this night

Place Jesus in the manger, ready to be found when the children come

home from liturgy

One of the wonderful things about being Orthodox is avoiding the post holiday blues – do you remember the feeling you had as a child on the 26^th of December, or even as an adult?  Everything is over, the presents are opened and there seems to be nothing left to look forward to but a long dreary winter.

12 days of Christmas – stockings with 12 small gifts to be opened each day of Christmas

January 1 – St. Basil’s Day – make vasilopita!

Theophany table – change cloth drape to gold, remove wreath, set out 11 votives and Christ candle

Theophany – special bottles for them to bring for the service to be filled with Holy Water , I bought a cheap bottle painting kit from Target/Hobby Lobby

Blessing of the Waters at the River

House Blessing – a good motivation to get the house cleaned and ready to start the year!

Nativity Links
Jesse Tree ornaments

Jesse Tree readings

Advent calendar instructions

Premade Orthodox Advent Calendar

Jesus is Born advent calendar illustrations

playmobil nativity set

Cycles of Grace Nativity binder

My Nativity Menu

advent alphabet

Bringing Church Home: Preparing for Pascha

As we are reaching the mid point of Lent, I wanted to once again share with some of the information presented by the women of our church at our retreat last fall. The topic of this talk was Preparing for Pascha, and was mostly a collection of resources and ideas to help prepare for this time of year.

There are so many resources out there, so I have included a few photos from the display table, along with a lengthy list of links for many of the items you see in the photos. The main focus of this talk was about thinking ahead, simplifying this time of year by doing things ahead, and being purposeful in planning our lives around the services of the church, rather than fitting church into our lives when it is most convenient. It is also a time to reduce our distractions and focus on preparing through our daily life. We can turn off the television, avoid movies and other forms of entertainment, and instead spend our time in services and spiritual reading. Children can be encouraged to add to their reading, selecting a book such as I-vile to You-ville, or perhaps a volume of the lives of the saints.


For an explanation of the red oval box with the resurrection icon on it - stay tuned. That is our Holy Week box for children, which I will share in detail in a few days. For now, here are a set of links that some may find useful.

Lenten Survival Bag for kids
Phylis Onest site - pascha eggs, projects, book ideas,
coloring book pages to print off, a guide to Holy Week for kids (and adults too!)
fasting and feasting talk outline
cycles of grace notebooks
Paschal Lenten Calendar


Holy Week
Holy Week Schedule and Checklist
(this is obviously specific to our parish, but includes many
helpful reminders of items needed for services etc.)
Resurrection Garden
Pascha Cookies
Resurrection Buns
Pascha Cheese Mold


There was a completely separate talk on the Pascha basket I will share in a few day with some helpful links.

Bringing Church Home: Preparing to be a Godparent

As we approach Theophany and turn our minds to the baptism of our Lord, I thought I would share another of our retreat topics from this past year. The following was compiled from the notes and outline from our speaker, the wife of a priest who has many godchildren of her own and much experience on the topic.

"Let my beseeching on behalf of these people be wholly acceptable, so that my transgressions may not prevent the descent here of the Holy Spirit." from the Great Blessing of the Waters at Theophany.

In our society, there is a huge emphasis on preparing for a wedding. We spend many months and thousands of dollars in planning the perfect day. Yet few couples invest time in preparing for marriage. Often, the same occurs in baptism. When most find they are asked to be a godparent, much emphasis is put on the actual day of baptism, finding the perfect gown, monogramming a towel, picking out the perfect cross, selecting or making the perfect candle. Yet few are prepared for the lifelong commitment they are making to that child. So, what is important to consider? First, as the parent of a new baby, it is important to consult with your priest before asking someone to become your child's godparent. Your priest may be aware of a situation that would make a person unsuitable as a godparent, or perhaps might just have some wise advice in suggesting a godparent for your child. The decision should not be made on the basis of being friends with someone or because you want to honor someone, rather you should prayerfully look for someone who will serve as a lifelong example of Christ. If you have been asked to become a godparent, take time before making the commitment. Don't feel pressured to answer right away, take time to pray about the decision and make sure you are ready to take on the responsibility of praying for this child's soul. For the parents who are asking, don't be offended if a prospective godparent asks for time to consider the request. This is not a personal affront to you. You want your child's godparents to be totally committed to your child, to prayerfully consider what is being asked of them. You also want to communicate clearly about expectations. If one person looks at a godparent as a substitute grandparent while another thinks a godparent means only praying for a child, misunderstandings will occur and feelings may be hurt. If you come to the decision of accepting this great honor and burden, here is some advice on how to serve the child that has been put in your care.

"Go to church, say your prayers, remember God," and your godchild.

First, go to church. As a godparent, you are taking on the role of instructor, serving as an example to your godchild. You want to maintain the sacramental life, participating in regular confession, communion and fasting. You should be at church at least as often as your godchild! Remember that you are teaching without words: your behavior, dress and actions are being observed by your godchild. When you fail, ask forgiveness.

Second, say your prayers. Pray for your godchild daily, and as needed. Let your godchild know you are praying for him, and ask him if there are things he would like you to pray about specifically. If your godchild has a specific prayer request, follow up with that later and see how his needs were met. Keeping a photo of your godchild or an icon of his patron saint is a wonderful way to remind you to keep the child in your prayers.

Third, remember God and your godchild. Remember you are entering a lifelong relationship. Be the kind of person your godchild would want to talk to, now and in the future. Remember birthdays, namedays, special feasts with a small gift, card or phone call. Small gifts that are spiritual in nature are a wonderful way to encourage your godchild in the faith. Remember that you are there for positive guidance, but not as a disciplinarian or "police" of your godchild. Give your godchild time. Make an effort to spend some occasional one on one time with your child, even if that is just a special moment at church. If your godchild lives far away, make the effort to occasionally visit. This is where phone calls and letters are important, keeping a bond long distance is difficult. Finally, just love them.

One of the hardest things to deal with as a godparent is when a family or child leaves the church. Here your role as a godparent becomes even more crucial. It is easy to be a godparent to a child with faithful parents who bring their child to church and are themselves involved in the sacramental life of the church. It is much harder to be an example for those who have rejected the church. Do not abandon your godchild, pray, remain in contact, continue to keep that line of communication open as you do not know what little moment God will use to bring that child or family back into communion.

Now, back to those immediate things. All that is needed for a baptism is a candle, a cross and a gown. Normally parents will provide the gown, so again, communicate clearly with your godchild's parents, ask them what they are expecting. A towel, bib and icon are additional gifts that are sometimes given by godparents at a baptism, but they are by no means necessary. Your local parish probably has many of these items in stock and there are many online resources as well. A candle can be easily made by gluing an icon to a plain candle, or painting a cross on it, or simply tying a ribbon around it. If you have been asked to sponsor an adult, it is important to communicate as well on these things, as most adults will want to have input concerning their cross or may perhaps already have one they wish to use.

Resources for "the stuff"
Galleria Byzantium

Orthodox Gifts

St. Isaac of Syria Skete

Bringing Church Home

Last Saturday was our annual church women's retreat. Normally we have a weekend event, and often bring in a speaker. This year, my mother came up with the concept of focusing on practical aspects of Orthodox living. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the hotel we had booked fell through, and the retreat was shifted to a one day event held at the church. Looking back, that was a real blessing! The theme was Bringing Church Home, and we decided to have a series of mini workshops led by some of our own ladies, along with a series of discussion periods focusing on female saints and scripture passages. The goal was to present a wide range of ideas gathered through reading, online research and personal experience, and share some of the more tangible ways we express our faith. It was an amazing day, and I learned so much. I would like to share with all of you some of the many wonderful ideas, displays and information from this day, so I will be posting a series of posts here outlining what was covered. Here is a list of the topics, and as I post on each one, I will link to this main post.

The Home Altar

Daily Devotional Aids

Preparing to be a Godparent

Service in the Church

The Nativity Fast

Fasting and Feasting

Preparing for Pascha

What's in your Pascha Basket?

Home Organization Tips

Bringing Church Home: Fasting and Feasting

(notes taken from the 2009 women's retreat at my parish)

Why do we fast? NOT to afflict selves with pain – learn to sacrifice

Correct approach to fasting
1) Gain mastery over ourselves – deny control to the demons of our passions thus depriving Satan of points of entry into ourselves - we must also replace those foods with worthy activities
2) To express our unity with the church – for me – this is huge – during Lent, feel like an outsider to this world, feel as if I don’t belong – need the frequent contact with the church and those who are journeying with me
3) Allow us to focus on the services of the church (cannot do this if we are planning elaborate fasting meals, or worrying at the last minute about what to cook)

Fasting is a two edged sword. It allows us to be more alert – not lulled into the satisfaction of a full belly, but at the same time it must not become our focus– obsession – if all we think about is proper fasting, then we have simply traded one passion for another.

Importance of fasting –Often it is easy to consider it a minor thing to break the fast, certainly God overlooks this, not like I commited a serious offense, yet breaking the fast mimics the original sin of Adam and Eve – eating that which was forbidden.

Things to consider when fastingFasting is not a natural thing, not easy – we must plan for it, prepare
Quickest way to fail – to be unprepared
Must take care to not fall into legalism

Practical Aspects of Fasting:
One key to making fasting more doable is menu planning. Taking a few hours to plan out a menu for the fast will save many hours later, and enable us to focus on the services of the church not on what we will be fixing for dinner.

First - determine the frequency of your menu. You can prepare one weekly menu and repeat it throughout the fast, or you can alternate two menus, or plan different meals for each week. Once you decide how often you will repeat meals, select the appropriate number of recipes using the following criteria:
What does my family like? What will my kids realistically eat?
Are the meals simple to prepare? Elaborate or fancy dishes not only make it harder to attend services, but also contradict what the church fathers say about fasting.
Do the dishes I select follow the spirit of the fast? If one of our goals is to tame the passions, and we simply switch from Ore*s to Hydr*x cookies during the fast, we are technically fasting, but not taming our passion for food.

Once you have selected your recipes, gather them all in one place. You may want a binder to store them in, or a recipe box or on your computer. Just make sure they are together and easy to access. I have mine in a 3 ring binder organized by day of the week. I use page protectors with a tab and insert for each day of the week, then I file each recipe for that day behind the divider.

Now, using those recipes, create a master weekly grocery list. You can also create a list of all non-perishables that can be purchased ahead if you like to bulk shop.

A few tips for grab and go foods: Amy's non-dairy burritos are a favorite around here, we always keep a supply in the freezer. Spaghetti in a jar, or homemade and frozen in meal sized portions is a quick meal. Zat*arain's beans and rice makes a great no fuss lunch or dinner.

Helpful Links

articles on fasting in the Orthodox church

sample weekly menu, grocery list and recipes for Nativity fast

my menu for Nativity fast

menu planner worksheet

sample master grocery checklist

Orthodox blog on fasting with lots of recipes

download binder cover for creating your own fasting binder

download of spine for fasting binder

download days of the week dividers for fasting binder

vegan food pyramid

"When we fast, we search the earth and sea up and down: the earth in order to collect seeds, produce, fruit, spices, and every other kind of growing edible; the sea to find shellfish, mollusks, snails, sea-urchins, and anything edible therein. We prepare dry foods, salted foods, pickled foods, and sweet foods, and from these ingredients we concoct many and motley dishes, seasoned with oil, wine, sweeteners, and spices. Then we fill the table even more than when we are eating meat. Moreover, since these foods stimulate the appetite, we eat and drink beyond moderation. And after that we imagine that we are fasting....

"And whoever taught those who fast in this way that such a variety and such quantities of food constitute a fast? Where did they read or hear that anyone who simply avoids meats or fish is fasting, even if he eats a great amount and different kinds of food? Fasting is one thing, great variety in food another; fasting is one thing, eating great amounts of food another."

Nicephorus Theotokis [Fasting and Science, 18-19]