In the Orthodox Christian tradition, there are several aids for improving a person's spirituality. One of these is abstinence, which is called fasting in the Orthodox tradition.
In the Orthodox Church calendar, there are four multi-day fasts, which are evenly distributed throughout the year. At the end of autumn, the holy Nativity Fast begins, which continues until the feast of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Among the many-day fasts in the Orthodox tradition there are transitional periods of abstinence (for example, the Great and Peter fasts) and non-transitional fasts. Nativity Fast refers to non-transient fasts, that is, every year this saving time of abstinence for an Orthodox person begins and ends on the same day.
In 2015, the Nativity Fast, also called Filippov, begins on November 28, Old Style. This day falls on Saturday. The end of the Nativity Fast, as usual, is January 7th in a new style. The very naming of this autumn-winter fast as Rozhdestvensky indicates that during the period of abstinence, Orthodox people prepare themselves for the great feast of the Nativity of Christ.
It is worth remembering that fasting is not a diet for a believer. Despite the fact that eating food of animal origin is not allowed during fasting, abstinence from meat and dairy products should not be understood as the main goal and purpose of fasting. During the Nativity Fast, believers not only strive to abstain from certain foods, but also from sins, passions, quarrels, and unnecessary amusements. During fasting, Orthodox Christians prepare and cleanse their souls in the sacraments of confession and communion for a worthy meeting of the birth into the world of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
