Happy Christmas 🎄
NativityFast
InChristianity,theNativityFast—orFastoftheProphetsinEthiopianOrthodoxTewahedoChurchandEritreanOrthodoxTewahedoChurch—isaperiodofabstinenceandpenance
practicedbytheEasternOrthodoxChurch,OrientalOrthodoxChurchandCatholicChurchinpreparationfortheNativityofJesusonDecember25.[1]EthiopianandEritreanOrthodox
Churches commence the season on November 24th and end the season on the day ofEthiopianChristmaswhichfallson7thofJanuary.ThecorrespondingWesternseasonofpreparationforChristmas,whichalsohasbeencalledtheNativityFast[2]andSt.Martin's
Lent,hastakenthenameofAdvent.TheEasternfastrunsfor40daysinsteadoffour(intheRomanRite)orsixweeks(AmbrosianRite)andthematicallyfocusesonproclamationand
glorificationoftheIncarnationofGod,whereastheWesternAdventfocusesonthetwocomings(oradvents)ofJesusChrist:hisbirthandhisSecondComingorParousia.
TheByzantinefastisobservedfromNovember15toDecember24,inclusively.ThesedatesapplytotheEasternCatholicChurches,andEasternOrthodoxchurcheswhichusethe
RevisedJuliancalendar,whichcurrentlymatchestheGregoriancalendar.ForthoseEastern
OrthodoxchurcheswhichstillfollowtheJuliancalendar—theGreekOrthodoxPatriarchateofJerusalem, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the GeorgianOrthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Macedonian Orthodox Church, MountAthos,thePortugueseOrthodoxChurch,andallOldCalendarists,aswellassomeparishes
oftheRomanianOrthodoxChurch,ofthePolishOrthodoxChurch,andoftheOrthodox
ChurchofAmerica—theWinterLentdoesnotbeginuntilNovember28(Gregorian)whichcoincideswithNovember15ontheJuliancalendar.TheAncientChurchoftheEastfastsdawntilduskfromDecember1untilDecember25ontheGregoriancalendar.
SometimesthefastiscalledPhilip'sFast(orthePhilippianFast),asittraditionallybeginsonthedayfollowingtheFeastofSt.PhiliptheApostle(November14).Somechurches,suchas
theMelkiteGreekCatholicChurch,haveabbreviatedthefasttostartonDecember10,followingtheFeastoftheConceptionbySaintAnneoftheMostHolyTheotokos.
Purposeoffasting
Fastingrules
Liturgicalaspects
Copticfast
Armenianfast
See also
Notes
Externallinks
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arious countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins.[21][22] Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas music and caroling; viewing a Nativity play; an exchange of Christmas cards; church services; a special meal; and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.[23] Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. Over the past few centuries, Christmas has had a steadily growing economic effect in many regions of the world.