Photo: Siim Solman
Orthodox great post. The most strict, without any frills. And although it is believed that fasting is still more of a cleansing of the soul, and food restrictions have nothing to do with diet, it is extremely difficult for many sweet tooth to overcome their temptation. And when thoughts all the time turn from the spiritual in a completely different direction, you can generally forget about the meaning of fasting, writes "MK Estonia".
Therefore, no matter what, we will try to find those lean sweets that can be eaten. In addition, in addition to their "sinlessness", many of them will certainly also be useful - the fewer ingredients, the greater the likelihood that the product will not harm.
First, let's deal with what is impossible. If you act strictly within the "law", you can not do much - all products of animal origin. Meat, cottage cheese, milk, eggs, cheeses - this is what lies on the surface. Did you know that gelatin is also of animal origin? Therefore, it is also impossible. Therefore, we also cross out all types of jelly. Fortunately, gelatin can be replaced with agar-agar, a gelling agent that is extracted from algae.
But there are many such pitfalls. For example, almost all pastries are excluded - the composition contains milk powder, eggs or egg powder ... Some types of marshmallow and halva will not work - their recipe (kos-halva or protein marshmallow) contains either milk or eggs. Milk chocolate is not allowed - we also cross out sweets covered with chocolate icing.
What remains? Honey, nuts, dried fruits, fruits, jam. And with this you can already live and even come up with different delicious recipes. From homemade caramel to quite lean poppy seed pretzels and sweet carrot cakes. It's just a matter of desire and imagination. But there is not always time for cooking, so we went to the shops, to see how we can sweeten thoughts of the high and brighten up the fasting life.
By the way, great hopes were placed on marshmallows - its recipe is extremely lean: applesauce, agar-agar and sugar. But alas, in store versions, egg white powder is added everywhere. Therefore, to our great regret, the marshmallow had to be crossed out.
At first, sherbet pleased with its composition, but serum was later found in it. And with a more thorough study of the recipe, it turned out that this is a dairy treat. Alas, it is past.
But many other sweets were found, but in order not to turn onto a curved path, read the composition before buying anyway - there are many manufacturers, everyone has their own recipe.
Sushi and bagels
It didn’t work out with marshmallows, but the composition of the dryers and bagels pleased me: flour, water, yeast, sugar. The icing is also simple: sugar and water or poppy seeds. Raisins are sometimes added. In general, no crime, you can safely eat.
Price: EUR 0.72 for sushi (200 g) and EUR 0.88 for crackers (150 g)
Biscuit
It is more difficult with cookies - many of the ones we are used to contain butter, eggs, milk (including condensed milk). We have found variants of oatmeal cookies - they are almost all harmless from the point of view of lean food and very healthy from the point of view of health: oat flakes whole are used, which is very good for digestion. There is also a "digestif" - round biscuit cookies, which are often called Marie. They also do not contain crime.
Price: €0.74 for 250g oatmeal cookies.
Halva
Oriental sweets, by the way, are one of the ways to seriously diversify the diet. Halva, Turkish delight, gozinaki - everything that is sweet, nutty and very, very lean. For example, halva is made from seeds (nuts, for example, peanuts), sugar, flour, water, vegetable oil. If you decide to cook at home, sugar can be replaced with honey.
Price: 0.65 euros for 150g.
Lokum
Lokum is made even simpler than halva: sugar, water and starch. For flavor notes, either lemon juice or nuts are added. The delicacy is inexpensive, due to its sweetness it is also economical - you won’t eat much, and the amount of sugar will satisfy the most severe sweet tooth.
Price: 1.90 euros for a box of 100g.
Kozinaki
Kozinaki is a nut mixture boiled in sugar or honey syrup. There are no more additives in the ideal gozinak, and due to its composition, it is also a calorie bomb. Eat carefully - the sweetness is quite hard.
Price: 0.55 euros for 50g.
Marzipan
Almonds grated with sugar. What else can you tell about marzipan? It is unlikely that this mass can be eaten just like that. Therefore, you can dream up: cut the mass into cubes, melt the dark chocolate and pour over the cubes. You will get lean and very tasty sweets. True, calories. But in the post, perhaps, it's even good.
Price: 2.45 euros for 150g.
Caramel
There are no problems at all. Sugar, water, flavors, dyes - for every taste and budget. Caramel can be consumed without any reservations.
Price: from 0.53 euros for 90g.
candied fruits
Here you can find cranberries in sugar, cranberries in sugar and chocolate, a variety of pieces of fruit in chocolate icing. The main thing is to look at the composition of the chocolate so that there are no milk and egg inclusions.
Price: candied cranberries 2.19 euros for 110g.
Marmalade
Quite a tasty treat. Just look at the ingredients. In the “correct” marmalade, you can find only fruit puree, agar-agar, sugar, possibly acidity regulators and dyes. Preferably natural.
An excellent natural marmalade from one of our farms was found on the eco-lot of one of the retail chains. The downside is the price, which is 3.25 euros for 200g Plus - a completely natural composition, no synthetics.
Price: 0.85 euros for 150g.
Chocolate
With chocolate, everything is very complicated. Dairy contains milk powder - it can not be consumed at all. But, if completely unbearable, dark chocolate is allowed. Just make sure it doesn't contain milk first.
Fortunately, we have no problems with dark chocolate, a rich assortment is presented in any distribution network, there are a variety of firms, and the density of the product is also for every taste: very hard varieties and slightly softer ones. Like the cocoa content - from 50 to 90%. It seems even higher.
Price: 1.09 euros per 100g.
Gingerbread
Here, too, there is something to relax on. As part of the gingerbread we studied, no dangerous products were found, so you can brighten up your lean life with them. And if you look at the markets, then among other sweets there are also Tula sweets - spicy, tasty, with jam ...
But! When we were looking for lean gingerbread, we found options that included both cream and egg powder. And, of course, you can’t take gingerbread stuffed with condensed milk - fasting.
Price: €0.63 for a pack of 250g vanilla gingerbread.
Paste
But not the usual, which is made on the basis of proteins, but fruit. Its production is a rather long process, but it is worth it (by the way, it can be easily made at home). Fruit puree, stewed with sugar, is laid out in a thin layer on baking paper and dried for a long time, evaporating excess moisture. The result is a plate of very tasty treats. You can buy in stores, in the department of eco-products. (The sea buckthorn marshmallow is very tasty, but you still have to look for it ...) In addition, funny fruit pastilles Veri Beri were found in one of the central grocery stores - completely based on fruits, the composition also contains the fibers of these very fruits, which is considered very useful.
Price: Veri Beri lozenges - from 1.15 euros for 50g.
Great Lent is the most strict and significant of all fasts.
On all days of fasting, smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages is prohibited. You can not eat animal products (meat, fish, milk and eggs), rich (white) bread, sweets, buns, mayonnaise. Allowed only plant foods (fruits, vegetables, dried fruits), pickles (sauerkraut, pickled and pickled cucumbers), crackers, dryers, tea, mushrooms, nuts, black and gray bread, kissels, cereals on the water. And on the feasts of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and Palm Sunday, it is allowed to eat fish.
In the first and last week, fasting is the strictest. Complete abstinence from food is accepted on Clean Monday. On Friday of the first week, you can only eat kolivo (boiled wheat sweetened with honey or sugar).
The rest of the time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday - dry eating (water, bread, fruits, vegetables, compotes); Tuesday, Thursday - hot food without oil; Saturday, Sunday - food with vegetable oil.
But giving up certain types of food is not the main purpose of fasting. Its main purpose is to spiritually elevate a person. Bodily cleansing must be combined with the transformation of the soul. “True fasting is the removal of evil, the curbing of the tongue, the putting off of anger, the taming of lusts, the cessation of slander, lies, perjury.”
Reasonable abstinence from food in fasting is good for the body. But the church allows the sick, the elderly, and those who have not eaten regularly during the year (for example, low-income families) not to fast. But it is best to get permission from the priest. And if this is not possible, think: will fasting harm your health? After all, a person who deliberately harms his health commits a mortal sin.
For the period of fasting, our ancestors canceled the usual amusements, baked “tuzhik bread” (“I mourn for abundant food”). Everyday food utensils were replaced by “watchmen” made of clay.
BREAKFASTS
For breakfast, you can eat muesli (on water or juice).
Try:
Muesli: Boil (do not boil) oatmeal or cereal mixture. Put prepared chopped walnuts, honey or sugar, prunes, raisins, dried apricots, figs. Cover with a lid and let stand for 5 minutes.
Buckwheat flakes with sugar
Semolina porridge (thin) with honey
Fried semolina porridge (slightly brown the semolina in a pan before cooking,
stirring constantly) with sugar or salt.
Pumpkin porridge: Boil rice until half cooked. Add the same amount of grated pumpkin. Cook so that the porridge comes out semi-liquid. At the end, you can add raisins, cinnamon. Sweeten.
WHAT IS AT WORK
In general, it is hard to stick to the post at the workplace. But at our work they found a way out, a little funny - they made vegetable shawarma. We bought Korean carrots, brought sauerkraut with them, added fresh vegetables, wrapped the whole thing in pita bread (thin) rolled up and ate. In general, you can take the same crackers, bagels, nuts, seeds, dried bananas, jam, seaweed (at worst) and salads to work with you.
During Great Lent, for the first two and a half days (until the liturgy of the third day), those who are strong do not eat anything except the morning prosphora with holy water. Others eat only bread with sweet tea. Some eat, as in the following days, food without oil. The same strict and last - passionate
week (week). On the remaining days - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri of the following weeks - they eat food without oil, on Sat and Sun - food with oil.
Annunciation - fish, caviar, oil and wine are allowed at the meal.
Lazarus Saturday - fish caviar, wine (and oil) are allowed.
Palm Sunday - fish, caviar, wine (and oil).
Passion Week. From Fri to Sun (morning) - the same as the first days. And in the morning, after the liturgy, everything is possible - Easter! - but they start with a consecrated egg, Easter (curd, not baked) and Easter cake (baked pastry with dried fruits and spices). At the same time, food, as always, is blessed (at least baptized) and does not overeat.
The first thing to do is a base of fried onions and carrots, you can add ketchup or tomato paste then the soup will be tastier. Bulgarian pepper can be added to lean borscht or cabbage soup to improve the taste. Perfectly saves pea or bean soup, mushroom soups, sorrel soup. Also, for density, cereals (rice, barley) are usually added to lean soups.
Try:
Soup with pumpkin: boil potatoes, add the same amount of pumpkin, the same amount of onion. Greens - in a bowl. Serve with toasted bread.
Soup with noodles: a lot of onions, carrots. Noodles at the end. Greens in bowls. Soup is better to eat immediately, before the noodles become sour.
Potato puree soup: boil potatoes, grind separately into a smooth puree, combine with potato broth, add crushed garlic, dill. Maybe black pepper. Serve with croutons. You can add a little wild garlic instead of garlic.
Soup with cereals: boil potatoes, add any cereal (buckwheat, rice, millet ...), a lot of onions, carrots and other roots to taste (parsley, parsnip, celery). Garlic, greens in plates. You can add a little tomato (preferably not pasta, but homemade, or ketchup, such as “Veres - sauce with
mushrooms"). Instead of garlic, you can use wild garlic.
French soup: do not boil the potatoes, but cook until tender; green peas (preferably frozen, but you can also canned), white or cauliflower cabbage, carrots, onions. You can add broken asparagus. Greens - in a bowl.
Soup with beans: boil beans, onions; add 2 tomatoes (from spin) or homemade tomato juice, boil. Parsley, (ramson) in plates.
Vegetable pickle: boil potatoes, rice, carrots, then parsley, turnips (straws), leeks, finely chopped pickles without peel. Fresh parsley in bowls. Serve with toasted bread.
Soup with mushrooms: mushrooms, onions, carrots, black pepper - boil. Add finely chopped potatoes, season with flour (separately dilute the flour in cold water and pour into the soup in a thin stream). At the end - greenery, laurel. sheet.
Soup with peas: boil potatoes, then onions, carrots and how many potatoes, the same amount green peas. Greens in bowls.
Sweet soup: Boil friable rice, boil dried fruit compote, sweeten. Pour rice compote with pieces of dried fruit. Eat cold. (Serve cold in summer).
SECOND DISHES
The most delicious, in my opinion, lean dish is fried potatoes with sauerkraut. Potatoes will most likely be the main food: french fries, mashed potatoes, potato cutlets, potatoes with gravy, baked potatoes ... In short, everything that used to be a side dish will suit you for the main meal: green peas, beans (in jars with sauce), corn. Fried mushrooms completely replace meat. If you are already tired of everything, remember the vegetable stew and hodgepodge. If it’s immediately clear what a hodgepodge can be made of, then you can put everything that comes to hand into a vegetable stew. You can add nuts (walnuts or hazelnuts) to any dish when cooking - this is both tastier and more satisfying. You can buy frozen vegetables for future use (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, mixed vegetables).
Try:
Noodles with olives: Boil any pasta, rinse cold water, add juice from olives there, chop the olives themselves, tomato or ketchup like “Veres - mushroom sauce”, garlic or wild garlic, basil (dried or fresh). When possible, grow well there. butter, grated cheese. Instead of noodles, you can cook green beans.
Sweet beans: Boil beans with onions. Make a sweet sauce from the broth: Stir flour into the cooled broth, brew, add sugar.
Stewed potatoes with peas or mushrooms: boil 3 parts of potatoes until half cooked, add 4 parts of diced carrots, 1 part of chopped celery roots, cook for half an hour; then 1 part onion, 1 part mushrooms (fresh or dried and boiled) or peas (any: fresh, frozen, dried and boiled) cook for 5 minutes. Greens in bowls.
Monastic beans: Boil the beans until half cooked, add a lot of finely chopped onions, cook for another half hour. Greens in bowls.
Stewed cabbage: Stew until softened 1 kg of cabbage, add red ground pepper, 2 cf. potatoes and simmer until done. Pour in 200 g of tomato juice (or fresh tomatoes, or canned). Dill at the end. Can be stewed with bell pepper (ice cream).
Cabbage with mushrooms: Boil the mushrooms until half cooked, finely chop. Stew the onion in a small amount of mushroom broth, then chopped cabbage, add red pepper, then mushrooms. Make a sauce from the remaining broth (dissolve the flour in the broth, add spices, cook until thickened).
Season the prepared cabbage with sauce and herbs.
Salad with corn (peas): Boil potatoes in their skins. Cut into small cubes, add finely chopped onion (preferably green, you can wild garlic), pickled (pickled) cucumbers (zucchini) without skin, canned corn with juice (peas).
Add some cucumber marinade. Greenery. It is possible with olives and juice from olives.
Salad with beetroot: bake 2 beets, grate coarsely; 2 pickled cucumbers without skin finely cut into cubes, 1 onion cut into half rings. Season with sugar, lemon juice, cumin, brine. Sprinkle with green onions.
Carrot salad with apples: Coarsely grate 3 carrots; 2 apples cut into strips. Soak raisins, mix with apples and carrots, season with honey diluted with water. You can sprinkle the apple with lemon juice (1 tsp) so that it does not darken.
DRINKS AND DESSERTS
Juices, kissels, compotes, tea, fruit drinks. For dessert, you can cook such a wonderful dish for children - apple and carrot puree. Remember how it used to crackle behind your ears? Or other fruit purees.
Try:
Fanta: pour 1-1.5 l of zest from 3-5 oranges warm water, add sugar to taste and let it brew overnight. Strain. Add juice of 0.5-1 lemon.
Happy posting everyone!
Lent is for many people one of the holiest events of the entire year. It is believed that it is during this period that you can not only cleanse your soul of the sinfulness that has “accumulated” over the year, but also rid the body of obscene substances by drastically changing your daily diet. Due to the high importance of this event, many people, especially believers, are interested in whether it is possible to eat bread, fry eggs, play games during fasting. computer games or even bathe in the sauna.
How much does soul cleansing cost?
Especially believers during fasting adhere to the strictest rules in order to properly prepare themselves for the important Easter holiday for them. A sharp restriction of oneself in eating food that the stomach has become accustomed to for a year, as well as the rejection of some other amenities, can lead not to sacred enlightenment, but to depression. That is why you must always remember first of all about your health, and only then - about obligations to higher powers and the purification of your sinful soul.
Great Lent: A Beginner's Guide
Newcomers, for whom Lent is completely unusual, will have a particularly difficult task: how to resist all the sweets that shops sell before the Easter celebration? The question of whether it is possible to eat bread during fasting does not even occur to such people, since all they try to do is to refrain from another bar of chocolate. Of course, it’s hard to completely refuse bread, since for many Slavs it makes up about thirty percent of the daily diet. Many people like to eat sandwiches on both cheeks in the morning, eat soup during the day, eating bread, and spread sweet jam on buns in the evening. It is not easy to give up all these pleasures if there is no real motivation. As practice shows, The best way stop eating bread - convince yourself that you have a lot of excess weight. In this case, the question no longer sounds like: “Is it possible to eat bread during fasting?”. It transforms into: "Why have I been eating bread all this time?"
A new marvelous and diverse world of breads
Most priests, without thinking twice, will answer the question of whether it is possible to eat bread during fasting, but the remark will not be positive. The fact is that the classic post involves the complete elimination of any products of animal origin, and in bakery products most often eggs are added, as in any dough. However, this does not mean that the unfortunate one who wants to cleanse his soul will have to get rid of anyone that he finds in the breadbasket or refrigerator. Knowledgeable people they can tell you what kind of bread is eaten in fasting, so as not to break the tradition and not worry about the lung, but constant feeling hunger. It opens the believer the whole world opportunities, because he is able to simply replace his favorite rich product and rolls with something easier. If you do not try to immediately remove all prohibited foods, and before that prepare your body, you may be able to get rid of any type of bread, but it is undesirable to change the diet so radically. The body will not thank you for this, and the number of sins will not decrease.
Banned white bread
For those who are serious about strict observance of Great Lent, there will be one more not very pleasant news: white bread cannot be consumed during fasting either. This immediately takes away the opportunity for Europeans to "participate" in the cleansing before Easter, as the white product is all they have ever known. Of course, they have a different religion not at all because of the lack of black bread on store shelves, but the fact is that foreigners accustomed to white bread would hardly be able to assimilate with us, adjusting to the peculiarities of our faith. White should not be consumed under any pretext, especially if they decide to seriously observe the tradition. It contains butter and eggs, and all these products are under a temporary ban in preparation for Easter. In order not to add this small sin to your already rather big list, it is advisable to refrain from using white bread or replace it with something else. Of course, crackers from this product are also prohibited.
"Black" alternative for bread lovers
On the other hand, you can still use fasting with almost one hundred percent certainty that you are not doing anything reprehensible or objectionable to higher powers. However, in any case, you should read what this product is made of - sometimes you can see margarine in the list of used products, and people try to remove it completely during Lent, like butter. However, brown bread will be a good alternative to almost any type of muffin. Is it worth mentioning that it will cost the fasting sinner cheaper, and will lie longer, and in general will be much more beneficial for digestion and the body. Typically, supermarket shelves have huge sections for white bread and sweet buns, and black is subjected to severe racial discrimination and lies somewhere in the corner or at the very bottom of the shelf. Great Lent is the perfect time to make black bread feel like someone needs it.
Vain
e and mercantile reasons for refusal
Some adherents of the maximalist point of view in all spheres of life believe that bread should be completely removed during fasting. It is not entirely clear what logic they are guided by. Perhaps in this way they want to confirm their independence from food and deny gluttony. Or maybe the real problem is much more prosaic and consists in the fact that even bread products are now beginning to rise in price. If a person is guided by the principle “we don’t hire, but I’ll save”, he risks adding something else to his sinful to-do list - greed and pettiness. However, there separate category people who are ready to completely remove bread from the diet, not only during the Great Lent, but also try to survive without it in the future. These are the people who have not been helped by any diet for a long time, and jogging only knocks their breath and the sole on their sneakers. By completely removing the bread, they can not only cleanse themselves before Easter, but also find the figure of their dreams.
How to get closer to the Almighty: simple steps
It must be remembered that the real meaning of fasting is not to properly limit oneself in eating and finally lose weight before the period of thousands of sweet pastries. The main goal of fasting repentant sinners is still spiritual enlightenment, purification, with the help of which they allegedly open a new page in their lives. For these people, the idea of whether it is possible to eat bread in fasting will be ridiculous, ridiculous and rather inappropriate. They are here, you know, waiting for enlightenment, purifying their souls with prayers, going to church and spraying the walls with holy water, and you ask them such things. The main thing is not to take all the advice of such people too seriously, since real religious fanatics can assure you that during fasting, the stomach does not need anything at all, except sunlight, and With such an approach, the Kingdom of Heaven, of course, will come much closer, but not quite in the sense in which the unfortunate sinner would like it.
Everything needs a measure
You should not think about whether bread can be fasted if you have already sinned with a chicken cutlet or cake. If you really find it very difficult to give up certain foods and you feel a physical need for them, you should not intentionally expose yourself to suffering. Of course, some religions preach great martyrdom, but certainly not in this format. If a penitent sinner even thinks about the beautiful cake resting on the shelf in the refrigerator, his thoughts will be too far from the purification of the soul. In everything you need to know the measure, and Great Lent is no exception, even if you swore to yourself to observe all its postulates. It should be remembered that health and maintaining a normal psychological state always come first. We still have time to save the soul, but spoiling the stomach and mood of others because of our religious beliefs is not at all worth it. Make fasting a fasting period, but don't overdo it.
We are gradually starting to prepare for the great holiday. People who are just starting out in the Church tend to have a lot of questions about rules and traditions. We tried to collect the most typical questions and asked them to Archpriest Alexei Mityushin, rector of the temple Life-Giving Trinity in Kosino.
We need the Advent fast in order to prepare our souls for the meeting of the great holiday - the Nativity of Christ. In the Orthodox Church, two events are celebrated in a special way: these are the Resurrection of Christ and the Nativity of Christ.
People have been waiting for the Nativity of Christ for many centuries in order to get rid of the power of the devil over themselves with the birth of the Lord. We continue to celebrate the joy of this birth of the Savior in the world until now. Therefore, Christians prepare themselves for this event in advance, by fasting.
Before the Advent, Christians do not fast for more than three months (after Dormition Fast). We relax spiritually and physically, and before Christmas comes the time to gather inwardly. When fasting disappears from our lives, we give slack both spiritually and physically.
The Advent fast is needed in order to worthily, in a Christian way meet the great holiday of Christmas. To bring gratitude to God for the fact that He did not disdain our human nature and became, like us, a perfect Man, taking upon Himself all the hardships of our earthly existence, diseases of the flesh and spirit.
How to observe the Advent fast?
The Christmas fast is not so strict and complicated, it is called the fish fast. The secular tradition of fasting is easier than the monastic one. Lay people can eat fish during this fast on all days except Wednesday and Friday.
And the monks, according to the church charter, eat fish only on Saturdays and Sundays; on Tuesdays and Thursdays - only if these days fall on holidays. For example, Memorial Day of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky (December 25), Celebration of the icon Mother of God"The Sign" (December 10) or patronal feast. After the first of January, monks no longer eat fish.
How to keep the Christmas fast for the laity?
It must be said that in the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, the laity should imitate the monks in their abstinence. Whoever has the strength can fast according to the church charter. Whoever does not have such an opportunity, let him not despair, do not lose heart, but during this fast he better exercises in humility, in love for others, in reading spiritual literature, in reading the Gospel.
What can not be done on Christmas Lent?
First of all, during the Nativity Fast, one should not sin with everyday sins. If during the fast we do not eat fast, but continue to be crafty, angry, irritable, we quarrel with our neighbors, condemn others, chat in vain - this will be a violation of the fast. Fasting is an opportunity to refrain not only from food, but also from such moral daily sins that we are used to not noticing in everyday life.
Is it possible to play a wedding (get married / get married) in the Christmas post?
Orthodox Christians cannot, of course, have a wedding during Advent. The wedding does not take place at this time. For those who decide to marry in the registry office, the Christmas post is also not the best time. It is important to remember that there is a time for everything: a time of joy and a time of abstinence. If a person considers himself Orthodox Christian then he must heed the voice of the Church.
Can you have sex on Advent?
This is a very subtle, personal matter. The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, says: « Wife not has power over her body, but her husband; likewise the husband has no power over his own body, but the wife” (1 Corinthians 4:7). If a husband and wife fast in bodily continence, then by mutual agreement.
If Orthodox Christians have a spiritual father, then this issue must be resolved with him. Such a question is much more personal than, for example, abstaining from meat. Maybe a Christian wife has an unbelieving husband, such abstinence is completely incomprehensible to him, this can lead to a quarrel in the family. Therefore, it is better to solve this problem with your confessor.
What can you eat on Advent?
In the Christmas fast you can eat fish, seafood, vegetables, fruits, bread. You can not eat meat, poultry, dairy products and eggs.
Can you eat fish on Advent?
In worldly tradition, in condescension to our infirmities, fish can be eaten on all days except Wednesday and Friday. For the laity, this is rather not a rule, but an indulgence. Modern man spends several hours a day on the road, gets tired at work, is at home in constant household chores, so we, as residents of megacities, are given such condescending indulgences.
Can you drink wine on Advent?
Wine is allowed to be drunk during Advent on Sundays and major holidays that fall during Lent. For example, the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos (December 4), the Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (December 19), the day of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called (December 13), the Memorial Day of St. Spyridon Trimifuntsky (December 25), patronal holidays.
As King David said in the Psalter: “…And wine gladdens the heart of man, and bread strengthens him” (Ps. 103:15). Wine is allowed to be drunk both on holidays and on fasting days, but in moderation.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the night from December 31 to January 1. January 1st is Monday in 2018. If you are going to receive communion on this day, then you must observe complete abstinence from food and drinks from midnight (this restriction does not apply to very young children and medication). In all other cases, the celebration of the New Year should also be modest, since the Orthodox continue the Christmas fast.
Is it possible to baptize on Advent?
Baptism can be performed on any day of Advent. There are no barriers to baptizing a child or an adult during Advent. Another thing is that you need to prepare for the sacrament: call the temple, agree on the time of baptism, talk with the priest. Now there is a rule of obligatory catechesis for adults and adolescents who are about to be baptized, and godfathers or mothers at the baptism of small children.
Be sure to ask about the preparation for baptism in the temple where you are going to be baptized yourself or baptize a child. You can find out on the parish website, by phone or behind a candle box.
Is it possible to receive communion on Christmas Day?
It is possible and, moreover, it is desirable to take communion more often than usual during the Christmas Fast. Since fasting is a time that helps prepare for communion. We are in abstinence, prayer. Therefore, observing the rules of fasting, we can approach the sacrament with the fear of God.
How to Prepare for Communion on Christmas Day?
Fasting, if observed, is in itself a preparation for communion. It is necessary to read the following to Holy Communion, read the penitential canon to the Savior, the prayer canon to the Most Holy Theotokos and the canon to the guardian angel.
What prayers are read in the Christmas fast?
Since not all of us have time to read the daily morning and evening rules outside of Lent, it would be best to start with them during the Christmas Lent and try to read them regularly. This will be the best prayer work for us, which it is desirable to leave in our ordinary life after the Advent.
In addition, in the Christian tradition, the Gospel should be read more often during fasting: either in a row, or the one that is read that day in the temple (this can be seen in church calendar, where the reading for each day is indicated). And for those who follow the daily rules and regularly read the Gospel, it is worth reading the Psalter.
Is it possible to read akathists during the Nativity Fast?
At home you can read any Orthodox prayers for the laity (without priestly exclamations). There is a well-known expression "The cell does not have a charter." Another thing is that an akathist is a solemn, joyful, thanksgiving prayer, which, perhaps, is not very appropriate, for example, on Good Friday - the day of the crucifixion of Christ. But during the Nativity Fast, you can read an akathist, especially since in December the days of memory of such famous saints as the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, Spyridon Trimifuntsky or St. Nicholas Archbishop Mir of Lycia are celebrated.
What can be commemorated in the Christmas post?
It is necessary to commemorate the dead at any time of the year by prayer: submitting notes for the proskomidia (part of the liturgy), funeral services, home prayer for deceased relatives and friends.
If we are talking about a memorial meal, then it should be fasting. The measure of abstinence and the possibility of relaxing fasting requirements should be discussed with your confessor or priest, whose opinion you trust.
Is it possible to conceive a child during Advent?
There is a tradition to refuse marital intimacy during fasting, so it is not worth conceiving a child on Christmas fast. On the other hand, the apostle Paul says: “Do not deviate from one another, except by agreement, for a time, for the exercise of fasting and prayer, and then be together again” (1 Cor. 7:5), so the question of the possibility of marital relations during Advent should be discussed with the spouse. If the conception of a child nevertheless occurred, do not pay attention to the superstitious ideas associated with this - the date of conception does not affect the child in any way.
Is it possible to eat marshmallows during Advent?
According to the monastic charter, milk and eggs are prohibited during the Nativity Fast. If these products are part of the marshmallow (which can be read on the product packaging), then it is impossible. Recall that the measure of abstinence and the possibility of relaxing fasting requirements must first be discussed with your confessor or priest, whose opinion you trust.
Is it possible to get married on Christmas Lent?
It is not entirely clear what is meant by the word "marry". If we are talking about a marriage proposal or meeting the parents of a chosen one or chosen one, then this is not prohibited. If we are talking about a wedding, then in the Orthodox Church during many days of fasting this sacrament is not performed.
By fasting, you can “sign at the registry office”, and postpone the wedding for later, but it’s better to ask the confessor for this blessing, consult with him on how best to proceed.
Is it possible to sew in the Christmas post? Is it possible to embroider with beads in the Christmas post?
Certainly you can. Sewing is a calm and pacifying activity that is quite consistent with the Lenten mood. It is better to embroider and sew than to waste time on TV or after hours on the Internet. By the way, according to church tradition, the Most Holy Theotokos herself was engaged in sewing - she sewed a veil for Solomon's temple. On the icons of the Annunciation, the Mother of God is often depicted with sewing accessories.
The main thing is that embroidery should not replace prayer in the temple. Otherwise, there are no prohibitions on doing embroidery at any time.
Any occupation must be approached with inner spiritual reasoning.
Where can one gather on Advent?
Unction during the Advent is a rarer phenomenon than unction during the Great Fast.
Nevertheless, in many Orthodox churches there is a tradition of unction during many days of fasting.
You can find out how to congregate in the temple of your choice on the parish website, by phone, or at the candle box. You will be told when you can confer and how best to prepare for the sacrament.
Residents of the sleeping areas of Moscow are better off choosing a temple in the city center, where there can be significantly fewer people than on the outskirts.
Unction is a sacrament in which we ask God for forgiveness of our forgotten sins. These do not include sins that a person deliberately concealed in confession.
Is it possible to eat crackers in the Christmas post?
Of course, you can eat crackers during the Christmas Fast - this is one of the leanest types of food, unless they are stuffed with milk.
Recall that the measure of abstinence and the possibility of relaxing fasting requirements must first be discussed with your confessor or priest, whose opinion you trust.
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Fasting is an integral part of the Orthodox faith. First of all, it is aimed at purifying a person spiritually. In addition, you can also cleanse the body, removing all toxins. Therefore, those who are going to fast, try to learn all the rules for its implementation and learn how to cook dishes without oil, what you can eat and drink, what foods you should enjoy.
This question is as basic in this period as the question of whether it is possible to vegetable oil. These two products are closely related, so if bread is allowed, then vegetable oil should not be denied. After all, the main prohibition is products prepared using animal fats and proteins.
It is best to use black bread, you can fry croutons in vegetable oil, but you should refuse white bread, because forbidden ingredients are often used in its preparation.
Thus, the question of the use of bread is not very important for the church, the main thing is to choose the appropriate variety. But is it possible to post pasta causes a lot of discussion. Macaroni is a flour product, so the problem of their use during fasting is among many believers. They are loved because you can quickly cook a dish without much effort and waste of time.
Just like with bread, you should pay attention to the composition of pasta. If there are no products of animal origin - please, to the table. The choice of pasta is now very huge, and manufacturers are trying to take into account the needs of different buyers, including fasting ones, so finding lean pasta will not be difficult.
Can honey be fasted
Since ancient times, when the traditions of Orthodoxy were strictly observed, honey was one of the main products during fasting:
- many recipes of ancient lenten dishes, which included honey, have survived to our times;
- on Honey Spas, it is customary to consecrate this product and keep it for the next year;
- honey has always been served to the needy, because it is considered a gift from God.
Honey in its composition contains a large number of useful trace elements, such necessary during the period of abstinence. It has a positive effect on the entire human body and perfectly replaces sugar, because it contains a lot of glucose and fructose. Therefore, the use of honey in fasting will only bring great benefits.
In addition to honey, as a healthy treat, halva can also be on the table. Halva is not prohibited in fasting, only if it does not contain egg yolk. You should carefully study the composition of the product or cook it yourself at home. To prepare halva at home, you will need:
- 250 grams of sunflower seeds, previously peeled;
- a couple of tablespoons of raisins;
- a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, not necessarily refined.
Using a blender, grind the seeds and raisins. Then add oil and beat a little more. Form a sausage from the finished mixture or place it in a prepared container. Refrigerate for 60 minutes. Halva is ready to use!
Wine in post
Is it possible to fast wine? There are two answers to this question. According to the charter of the monasteries, you can drink wine on weekends. But the priests believe that this rule is not acceptable today.
Previously, it was allowed to drink wine instead of water and medicines, since the inhabitants of Byzantium and Syria had a lack of this raw material. It was in these parts that the Charter was written. Now there is no shortage of this drink, so there is no need to drink wine in fasting.
To the question of whether it is possible to drink wine in, there is a definite answer - it is possible, only on certain days. Wine is allowed to drink only twice a week: on Saturday and Sunday. On other days, alcohol is prohibited. When choosing a wine, it is best to give preference to red, it is good if it is Cahors.
Orthodox people can drink wine, but the clergyman is still recommended to abandon it for the duration of abstinence, because it harms the spiritual development of a person.
Is it possible to fast chocolate
You can eat chocolate during fasting, but not in all confectionery dishes. Often, unscrupulous manufacturers add ingredients prohibited by fasting to chocolate, and mark the label that the chocolate is lean. You can use dark chocolate, but you should refuse milk and white chocolate, because they contain animal proteins and fats.
Based on this, in order not to sin, it is better to cook chocolate desserts at home on your own.
For chocolate lovers, a dish such as bananas in chocolate. For cooking you will need:
- bitter chocolate bar;
- 2 bananas;
- dried fruits.
Dried fruits should be crushed. Cut bananas into thin slices. Chocolate should be melted using a microwave or water bath. Then the banana slices should be dipped in warm chocolate and sprinkled with prepared dried fruits. The treat is ready to eat. You can also leave these candies in the freezer to harden.
Seafood in post
It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of whether it is possible to eat seafood in a fast. The use of seafood in our country is considered a matter of gourmets, but more and more often, those who adhere to fasting ask if shrimp, squid, mussels, and so on can be fasted.
Since seafood remains a delicacy for many, it is undesirable to use them during fasting, because the church prohibits gluttony. Fasting is aimed at ensuring that a person can come to terms with his desires, engage in the purification of his soul, and not indulge his whims in food, in the first place. Therefore, if seafood is a delicacy, it must be abandoned for this period.
You should not completely abandon seafood if they are in your regular diet. After all, in every post there are days on which you can eat fish. And sometimes various types of seafood are also referred to as fish. You can also eat caviar in fasting on fish days. . Since ancient times, caviar has not been considered a delicacy, especially red caviar. But black caviar is strictly forbidden to use.
Fish and seafood should be on the menu, because they contain such useful material, as omega-3 acids and high-quality protein, which remove bad cholesterol and improve the functioning of the heart system.
The question often arises among the Orthodox: what kind of fish can be eaten during the Assumption fast. The answer is none. Fishing during the Assumption Lent is strictly prohibited. You can enjoy this product only on the feast of the Transfiguration during the exit from the post.
Potato in the post
You can cook potatoes in fasting in various ways. You can fry on those days when it is allowed to use vegetable oil, you can bake, boil, add to soups. The main thing is that in the finished dish, there are only permitted products. Potatoes should be avoided on dry days. But in general, this product is allowed by the charter, but it must be prepared correctly.
Before deciding to fast, you should study all the rules for fasting. Strict - characteristic only for monasteries, in worldly life some indulgences are possible, which should be found out from a church employee. You should also receive blessings from him. Pregnant women and sick people should fast especially carefully.
The Lord is always with you!
