Today, Thursday, November 28, the Nativity Fast began for Orthodox believers, including Belarusians.
It lasts forty days, that is, as long as Lent before Easter.
The Nativity Fast ends on January 7 – the Nativity of Christ.
This fast is often called Philip's Fast, which is connected with the fact that the day before, on November 27, the church celebrates the day of the Holy Apostle Philip.
Just before the fast, as is customary on Philip's Day, believers visit churches, confess and receive communion.
Although the Nativity Fast is not inferior in duration to the Great Fast, it is not as strict.
However, the basic requirements for the “diet” are the same as for other fasts: you cannot eat meat or eggs, and you cannot consume dairy products.
The strictest days of the Nativity Fast fall on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
But perhaps the strictest period of this fast is the week from January 2 to 6.
The Church allows breaking the fast only after the rising of the Star of Bethlehem, which, according to the Bible, informed the Magi of the birth of the Son of God.
For reference
Fasting is a religiously conditioned tradition of temporary abstinence from food and drink (completely or of a certain kind), associated with other spiritual and ascetic practices.
