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After the New Year, every Christian eagerly awaits one of the main church festivals - Christmas. To prepare for it, many believers observe the Christmas fast, which in 2019-2020 lasts 40 days, beginning on November 28 and ending on January 6.
The essence of the post
Christmas fast or Filippov refers to multi-day church fasts, which provide for varying degrees of severity:
- complete rejection of food;
- xerophagy;
- hot food is allowed without the addition of any oil;
- hot food without butter is allowed (only sunflower);
- allowed to eat fish dishes.
Christmas post 2019-2020 is not a diet, but a meaningful rejection of worldly pleasures, purification of the body and soul, preparation for the great festival through prayer and rejection of dairy and meat products. Only those strong in faith and spirit can hold out on a 40-day fast.
Christmas Fasting Basics
The ministers of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasize that spiritual fasting is important, not physical. The main point of this event is repentance, purification and tranquility of the soul, the desire to make oneself better before God and people. During fasting, you need to read the Bible, pray, reflect on sins and their atonement, on the possibility of avoiding vices in the future, on the need to forgive insults, free yourself from sinful thoughts and intentions, and strengthen your spirit.
Believers who observe the Christmas Lent try not to watch TV, not to attend entertainment and entertainment events, read the Epistles of the Apostles and the Holy Gospel daily. All 40 days before the moment of the Birth of Christ, people fast to meet this great moment, renewed and cleansed spiritually, coping with sinful passions. They drive out all the stench from the heart, cultivate in themselves the basic Christian virtues - mercy, prayer, abstinence, repentance. Struggling with gluttony and excesses, Christians refrain from evil thoughts, words and deeds, struggle with pride, vanity, despondency, sadness, anger, pride, fornication. During this period, you need to confess and partake at least once.
Several stages of the Christmas Lent
In order not to violate church rules before the Birth of Jesus Christ, it is necessary to follow a certain nutritional scheme. It is different for the three stages of fasting, although the main points are clearly defined - the rejection of milk and dairy products, cheese, eggs, meat and meat dishes:
- November 28 - December 19.
- December 20 - January 1.
- January 2 - January 6.
Christmas fast ends on January 7, 2020. It is less strict than Lent before Easter. Believers can drink red wine on Thursdays and Tuesdays, eat fish dishes, cereals with vegetable oil (oil). The most severe days fall at the beginning of January. On Christmas Eve, before the appearance of the first star in the sky, you should refuse to eat.
At the first stage, from November 29, 2019, on Wednesday and Friday, you need to adhere to dry-eating. All food that a person consumes should not be heat-treated. Vegetable products are eaten raw, they are not cooked, they are not baked, they are not stewed. On Monday, hot meals are allowed without adding oil - these are steam, baked or stewed vegetables, various boiled cereals on the water.Pampering yourself is allowed with lean flour products. Usually housewives bake them on their own without adding margarine, butter and eggs. On other days, you can cook various varieties of fish. It is allowed to eat mushrooms and add sunflower oil to food.
Since December 20, at stage 2 of the Christmas Lent, more restrictions are introduced. On Wednesday and Friday, believers continue to eat raw food. On Monday, hot soups and cereals are allowed, but without the addition of oil. The menu is varied with hot cakes, vegetable and mushroom side dishes, all kinds of cereals. On weekends it is allowed to cook fish and drink some red wine.
At the most difficult and rigorous stage 3, which begins on January 2, 2020, dry-eating comes not only on Wednesday and Friday, but already on Monday. On Tuesday, Thursday and weekends, you can diversify your diet with hot broths and soups. It is allowed to add sunflower oil. At the final stage of the fast, church dogmas prohibit the use of alcohol. On Christmas Eve January 6, believers can set up a festive table with warm snacks. Sochi - a traditional dish of boiled cereals, honey, nuts and dried fruits - is put in the center of the table, but you can’t start a meal while there are no stars in the sky.
How to easily transfer church fast
The basis of any Christian fasting is the fight against everything sinful through the rejection of certain types of food. It is also necessary to prepare for it gradually, for example, throughout the year on weekends or Wednesdays and Fridays, eat restrained and modestly. Many people who have sharply decided on an ascetic feat do not stand fasting. Impatience and aggression toward others begin to manifest. In the end, they just drop the post and pounce on their favorite food.
In order to withstand the lengthy post of Filippov, one must mentally prepare for it through prayers. A few months before November 28, it is necessary to gradually reduce the portion of food consumed, but without a hunger strike, so as not to exhaust and weaken yourself in advance. Those who want to observe church fasting for the first time should consult with a priest or priest, ask for blessings, and tell about their physical condition and faith. In many cases, confessors do not advise their parishioners to fast, namely those who suffer from severe chronic diseases. It is undesirable to fast and pregnant women.
What foods can be consumed
In the period of church fasting before Christmas, it is better to include pearl barley, hercules, millet, buckwheat, rice and other cereals in the menu. Allowed to cook and eat raw all kinds of vegetables:
- radish;
- turnip;
- potatoes;
- beets;
- carrot;
- garlic;
- bow;
- all varieties of cabbage (including sauerkraut and sea).
Church rules allow the use of lentils, beans, corn, peas. It is very simple and quick to prepare independently prepared or purchased frozen vegetable mixes. To replenish the supply of trace elements and vitamins, homemade honey, nuts, dried fruits, caviar, fish dishes are introduced into the diet. You can eat bread, but cooked without the addition of margarine, butter, eggs and milk.
It is not entirely ethical during the fasting period to look for “substitutes” for the taste of milk and meat. Bean curd, meat, yoghurts, milk often contain many carcinogens, and their use does not make any sense, but only irritates the taste buds. The same applies to lean mayonnaise, french fries and chips. In food, the main thing is to adhere to moderation, to pacify your flesh and gluttony, and not to please yourself with goodies, even if they do not include meat and milk.
A bit of history
The first fasting Christians began to observe back in the days of the Old Testament. At first, there were no clear dates and rules for holding church fasts. Believers for a short time refused delicious food in order to cleanse the body and mobilize physical and mental capabilities.Usually a week was enough. As a sign of repentance and reconciliation with the Almighty, the posts were observed by the poor, noble people, and even rulers. The ancient Jews in difficult times and calamities refused not only meat, but also all worldly pleasures.
In 1166, under the Byzantine Emperor Manuel and the Patriarch of Constantinople Luke, clear adjustments were made to the church calendar. An annual 40-day fast was set before the Nativity of Jesus Christ. In the Typicon, the Russian Church Charter, in the 17th century, monastic norms of fasting appeared. For the laity they are more lax than for the clergy and novices.
Opinion of the shepherd regarding the Christmas post: video
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