Today I am very honored to have a guest post over on my friend Charlotte Riggle’s lovely blog, Catherine’s Pascha. Charlotte is the author of one of my favorite Orthodox children’s books, Catherine’s Pascha, which tells the story of a young girl and her experience of Orthodox Easter.
Here’s a snippet of my article today:
“When my kids and I walked into Target a couple of days ago, we were immediately overwhelmed with the sounds and sights of “the holidays.” My seven-year-old son commented, “Didn’t we just have Halloween, Mom?” Yep!
During the months leading up to the Nativity of Christ, it seems that you can’t go anywhere without seeing Christmas decorations and hearing Christmas music. While the rest of the world is hurrying to get to Christmas, in the Orthodox Church we slow down. We enter into a time of preparation so we can fully appreciate the miracle of the Incarnation–God becoming man.
We do this by fasting: fasting from sin, from excess, from indulgence, and from selfish desires. This is pretty counter-cultural–especially before Christmas. One practical way that the Church helps us do this, and has for over one thousand years, is by establishing a fast from certain foods. Orthodox Christians abstain from meat, dairy, wine, and oil during the Nativity Fast, which lasts from November 15 until Nativity.”
To read more and learn 4 practical tips for fasting as a family, read the rest of the article here.
