Orthodox traditions of the Christmas Fast: customs and prohibitions of 2025

The Nativity fast is a time of inner concentration, repentance and expectation of the bright feast of the Nativity of Christ. It unites believers in the pursuit of spiritual purification, good deeds and the rejection of excesses. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

How do Orthodox Christians observe the Christmas Fast

In the Orthodox tradition, the Nativity fast is perceived as a time of purposeful spiritual preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. Believers strive to combine abstinence in food with increased prayer practice, participation in divine services and performing works of charity.

In parish practice, fasting varies: some follow strict regulations, others follow milder parish rules, and many follow the instructions of their own confessor.

Folk and church traditions on different days of Lent

The charter of the Nativity Fast traditionally divides it into several semantic segments, each of which has its own liturgical coloring and everyday customs. The first weeks of lent often take place in a relatively simple mode: parishioners observe abstinence from meat and milk, but on Saturdays and Sundays they can afford indulgences in the form of fish and vegetable oil.

Closer to December, and especially in the last days before Christmas Eve (January 6), the rules become stricter and abstinence becomes stricter. Folk customs on different weeks include visits to temples and family prayer evenings.

What not to do during the Christmas Fast

The prohibitions of the Christmas Fast are not limited to the menu: traditionally, abstinence from mental and moral transgressions is implied — swearing, gossip, anger and quarrels.

The social part of the charter requires attention to one's neighbors and the rejection of excessive luxury and idle pastime; in folk practice, this is sometimes expressed in the rejection of mass entertainment and noisy feasts.

In culinary terms, meat, poultry, dairy products and eggs are excluded from the diet. On some days, there may be allowances for oil, wine and fish, depending on the parish charter. In addition, the pastors emphasize that fasting is lenient for people with chronic diseases, children, pregnant and nursing mothers — such believers receive pastoral and medical advice on individual observance of fasting.

How believers prepare for Christmas

Preparation for Christmas in church practice includes several interrelated steps: intense prayer and participation in divine services, confession and communion, works of mercy and inner repentance.

The central event of the preparation is Christmas Eve, the last day of lent, when in the evening after the divine service, believers traditionally eat sochivo and break the fast.

On the eve of the holiday, parishes hold special divine services, akathists and canons are read, and many try to approach the holiday in a state of spiritual and physical readiness.