5 Ways to Embrace Christ this Nativity Fast, following the Church as our guide!

Over the past several years, I have been on the hunt for an Orthodox Nativity set for my family. One of my biggest hold ups when searching for sets is majority of the sets on the market have the common “barn” manger scene, which isn’t entirely accurate. I’ve been on the search for the traditional “Cave” scene. This year, we found it! We added this BRAND NEW Wooden Icon Nativity Set by Orthodox Design Company to our collection and when I opened the packaged, I squealed and did a happy dance! It’s a dream to have this heirloom Nativity set that is not only beautiful, but durable and interactive for my children!

Living the Orthodox Faith in our modern age takes intention. I’ve created a beautiful one page (per month) printable to help simplify liturgical living with fun and easy ways to incorporate into your home. Bundle and Save!

Do you know that Jan 1 is the feast day for St Basil? If you're looking for a way to ring in the civil new year, look no further than the Vasilopita tradition! Vasilopita, is a sweet bread or cake with a coin baked inside. DOWNLOAD FREE RECIPE HERE.

The 12 days of Christmas is the period that marks the span between the birth of Christ (Nativity) December 25 and runs up to January 6 Theophany (Epiphany) which is when we celebrate Christ's baptism in the Jordan! These 12 days in between offers the faithful a festal period of great joy!

As Orthodox Christians, we mark the 40 days Advent leading up to the Nativity as a period of fasting, increased prayer, and giving alms and services in order to preparing ourselves spiritually to receive the coming Lord.

After any fast, we feast! Christmas is not a one day event! In fact, we spend this period of time FEASTING in all senses of the word ... celebrating with loved ones, enjoying the all the foods we have abstained from, and joyously celebrating the Lord who is with us 🎉

The 12 days of Christmas is the period that marks the span between the birth of Christ (Nativity) December 25 and runs up to January 6 Theophany (Epiphany) which is when we celebrate Christ's baptism in the Jordan! These 12 days in between offers the faithful a festal period of great joy!

For this challenge, I encourage you to find one thing per day that helps cultivate family culture in your home, create family bonds and glorify God in your family. Carve out time intentionally and find things you all enjoy together! As a visual aid, I created a printable to help you enjoy these days in a sustainable way.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! May the remembrance of our Lord’s incarnation life your spirits and cause your hearts to rejoice! Christ is born, glorify Him!

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of feast days, saint days, fasting periods, etc. So my hope with these monthly printables is to pair it down for you. Let’s make a goal to learn about ONE saint this month, and do ONE activity this month related to a featured saint. Throughout the month, learn ONE hymn by singing it together every day, or as often as you can. And lastly, intentionally carve out time to create a strong family culture in your home (in the Family Corner section).