Fasting for Passion Week food. What can you eat by day during Holy Week?

Holy Week marks seven of the most the strictest days per year. Eat right, in accordance with the recommendations of the church, to cure many diseases and cleanse your soul of sins.

The last week before Easter is the most difficult and strict compared to other days. This period is very important for Orthodox people, because we remember last days Jesus' life on earth and his suffering. It is advisable to spend Holy Week in prayers that will help you better understand yourself.

Proper diet for the week

Monday: the most difficult day of Holy Week. In addition to the fact that you can only eat food once in 24 hours, it must be eaten raw. Therefore, for most of us it is difficult and unusual. Righteous people Those who firmly believe in God try to give up food altogether on this day. For beginners, it is permissible to include in the Monday diet flour products, in particular bread and vegetables. They can be consumed in any form: dried, fried and pickled. This day is also characterized by the use of fruits and mushrooms. You can drink unlimited quantities of water, cool compotes and fruit drinks. It is important to know that you can only eat in the evening.

Tuesday: On Tuesday you can eat whatever you cook. However, remember that during Lent we exclude sweets, flour, meat, fish, dairy and eggs from our usual diet. It is permissible to eat vegetables and fruits on Tuesday, but only in limited quantities. You should eat food as on Monday, on evening time and only once a day.

Wednesday: on this day people remember Judas, who betrayed Christ. You should visit church and repent of your sins. It is known that this is the most best time to cleanse your soul. Dry food is served at the table, it is advisable to refuse food altogether, so that nothing interferes with cleansing the body and thoughts on this day.

Thursday: It passes easier than the previous days, because from now on you can eat twice a day. IN daily diet hot food appears, which was previously prohibited, and vegetable oil. Begins active preparation for Easter: people bake Easter cakes, paint eggs, prepare treats for festive table.

Thursday is characterized by various rituals to expel evil spirits and evil from the house. One of them is that when cleaning your home you need to throw a handful of small items into a basin of water. This will attract prosperity and wealth in the future. Water on Maundy Thursday has magical power, so you can consecrate your apartment and, after washing, rid yourself of illnesses for a whole year.

Friday: is a time of sorrow for Orthodox people. It was on the fifth day of the week that Jesus Christ was crucified. It is prohibited to consume any food, the exception applies only to infants and infirm people. Any household chores should be postponed. By doing anything on this day, you show your disrespect for God. It is necessary to gain strength and try to endure this day, honoring Christ, who gave his life for our sins.

Holy Week is very important for people: these days many people are rethinking their lives. During this time, a person is spiritually cleansed and greets Easter with pure and bright thoughts. It is imperative to keep all the commandments, pray and not denigrate yourself with sinful deeds and thoughts. It is known that if you repent on the Bright Resurrection of Christ with with a pure heart and strong faith, then God will definitely forgive you for everything. Find out how to properly prepare for confession. Good luck,and don't forget to press the buttons and

Today, April 2, Holy Week 2018 began and will last until April 7, ending with the holiday. Holy Week is the strictest week of Lent. During this period, Orthodox Christians remember the last days of earthly life, the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

Subscribe to our telegram and stay up to date with all the most interesting and current news!

If you notice an error, select the required text and press Ctrl+Enter to report it to the editors.

Share on social networks

Meals by day during Lent during Holy Week

Being the strictest week in terms of fasting, Holy Week involves observing strict fasting, excluding dairy, egg, fish, and meat foods. If you know, then the basic principles of fasting will be clear to you in the seventh week.

The main foods that can be eaten this week are raw or semi-cooked. raw vegetables without use vegetable oil and if possible without salt.

Holy Week (White, Clean Week).

43rd day of fasting. Maundy Monday (Clean Monday).

Preparations for Easter begin on Holy Monday. Women traditionally cleaned the house on this day, and men, to free themselves from work holidays, prepared feed for livestock for the entire Bright Week following Easter.

On the first day of Holy Week, the most strict regime fasting in the form of complete abstinence from food. However, this measure applies to especially devout people and monks who profess strict fast. One of the relaxations of the diet during fasting on this day is dry eating - permission to eat raw vegetables with bread and water once a day.

44th day of fasting. Great Tuesday.

On Tuesday of Holy Week, in order to protect livestock from disease, they were given milk diluted with water from ground flax and hemp seeds at dawn to protect them from disease.

Some believers continue to abstain from food on Tuesday. The monastic charter does not prohibit this, and in turn recommends limiting yourself to dry eating once a day.

For the laity, such dietary restrictions during Lent are often not feasible due to the lifestyle and rhythm of life, so on this day it is also recommended to limit yourself to food without vegetable oil.

45th day of fasting. Great Wednesday.

Since Great Wednesday, peasants have been collecting not melted snow from the ravines, but the resulting snow. melt water they salted it and poured it over the cattle. Such a ritual was supposed to protect the barnyard from various diseases throughout the whole year.

According to the monastic charter, on this day dry eating is prescribed once in the evening. The laity should also abstain from food containing vegetable oil on Wednesday of Holy Week.

46th day of fasting. Maundy Thursday (Thursday, Maundy Thursday).

According to folk custom, candles lit in church on this day were carried home for good luck. Maundy Thursday is popularly called Clean Thursday, since everyone on this day strives to cleanse themselves spiritually and physically, so it is so important on this day not only to clean the house, wash things, and dress in clean clothes, but also to confess and receive communion. As a symbol of cleansing, the custom of cleansing with water was also widespread in ancient times. This could be either swimming in an ice hole, river, or lake, or dousing in a bathhouse. The only condition was that it had to be done before sunrise.

On Maundy Thursday the main preparations for Easter begin. On this day it was customary to paint eggs, slaughter cattle and make other preparations for the Easter table.

On Maundy Thursday, as an exception, eating food with vegetable oil is allowed. You can afford both hot food cooked in oil and vegetable salads seasoned with vegetable oil.

47th day of fasting. Good Friday (Friday, Good Friday).

Evening service good friday(“Carrying out the Shroud”) is dedicated to the burial of Christ and usually takes place in the middle of the day or late in the evening. Women on this day Special attention devoted themselves to preparing the Easter table: baking Easter cakes and preparing Easter eggs.

On Good Friday, the Church recommends, if possible, completely abstaining from eating food until the evening service (before the removal of the Holy Shroud). If for health reasons or other reasons you cannot abstain from food on this day, it is recommended to limit yourself to dry eating (raw food without vegetable oil).

48th day of fasting. Holy Saturday.

Holy Saturday is the last day of preparation for Easter. The dark clothes of the priests are changed to light ones, and after the morning service in churches, according to custom, the consecration of Easter cakes, Easter cakes and eggs for breaking the fast on Easter day begins.

On Holy Saturday, it is important to try to finish all your chores before the evening and come to the night service to celebrate the great holiday of Easter.

Some believers continue to abstain from eating food on Holy Saturday. If you do not adhere to a particularly ascetic diet, you can limit yourself to dry eating, or hot food without using vegetable oil.

Easter. Feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ.

Easter is the most important and joyful religious holiday. On this Bright Holiday, all prohibitions on eating fast food are lifted. The so-called breaking of the fast occurs, when the consumption of butter, eggs, fish, and meat is allowed.

The final seventh week of Lent is not only the strictest in nutrition, but at the same time the body’s preparatory week for breaking the fast. Small portions of food and partial fasting improve the functioning of the body before consuming animal (meat) food.

However, my advice to you: do not attack everything at once, as this is fraught with various problems related to digestion. Don’t forget about moderation, because that’s what Lent taught us.

The most the best product Since ancient times, eggs have been used to break the fast. It is no coincidence that they are an invariable attribute of the Easter holidays. They contain almost everything necessary for the body microelements and vitamins, as well as fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The uniqueness of eggs for the fasting body also lies in the fact that, being absorbed almost 100%, they completely provide the body with all the components it needs, replenishing their reserves after long period post. At the same time, you don’t have to worry about it at all.

With this material I complete the series of articles about daily meals during Lent. Thank you for being with me all these seven weeks - for me it was an invaluable experience, and for you, I hope helpful information and reliable help for every day of Lent.

Immediately after Palm Sunday, before Great Easter, the strictest six days of fasting begin, called Holy Week, Holy Week, Holy Week. In 2018, Holy Week begins on April 2. Often, even those who did not keep strict fast all days, join fasting on these days, the great sacrament of cleansing the soul, mind and body, in order to unite in a common impulse of gratitude and get closer to the great mystery of Faith.

This week carries with it even greater strength and desire to share the hardships that the Lord endured before his Resurrection. This strict time requires even greater abstinence and even stricter behavior.

First of all, during these days we should complete our spiritual cleansing, from everything that torments the heart, that torments the soul, through prayers, communion and confession, we work through, release and prepare for the Bright Day of the Resurrection of Christ.

For believers, all the rules have long become a truism; for people who are a little far from the faith and the church and want to join, let’s talk about this topic.

Holy Week: what to do

During Holy Week, one should especially refrain from unrighteous deeds, bad deeds and thoughts, and avoid envy, callousness and malice. At this time, it is not advisable to organize noisy entertainment, holidays, laugh loudly, rejoice - this is a period of great sorrow. Helping those in need, caring for the sick, time for good deeds.

Continuing to cleanse the soul, this week they prepare their home for the holiday, renewing and transforming it.

We prepare food for the festive table in advance, eggs for dyeing, and carefully think through the details of the festive decoration.

During Lent, foods that contain meat, fish, poultry, and eggs are strictly prohibited. You should not consume dairy products, as well as chocolate, pasta, White bread, pickles, spices and alcohol.

Holy Monday

Holy Week begins on Holy Monday. Previously, on this day they usually put their yard in order, shallowed, cleaned, and repaired the outside. The weather does not always allow this, and there are fewer and fewer yards, so we immediately begin preparing for the holiday right from the home.

On this day, a lot of tidying begins. The house is cleared of old, bulky things.

On Monday you can eat raw vegetables and fruits, as well as bread, honey and nuts. It is recommended to eat once a day - in the evening.

Holy Tuesday

Groceries are being purchased for Easter. Women cook medicinal infusions. Men should not even touch herbs, tinctures, powders.

Just like the previous day, raw fruits and vegetables, honey, nuts and bread are allowed. It is advisable to eat only in the evening.

Holy Wednesday

This is the day of washing and all sorts of wiping. On Wednesday, it is advisable to thoroughly wash, scrub the floors, and beat out the carpets. On Wednesday of Holy Week we remembered special rite against all bodily infirmities. It was necessary to scoop up water with a mug from a well or from a barrel on the street, or draw water from a river. Having crossed themselves three times, they covered the mug with a clean or new towel, and at 2 a.m., having crossed themselves again three times, they doused themselves with this water, leaving a little in the mug. Afterwards, clothes were put on the wet body without drying, and the water that remained in the mug was poured onto a bush or flowers for up to 3 hours. They say that a body washed in this way is reborn.

You can also eat bread, vegetables and fruits, cold raw food no oil.

Maundy Thursday

The special day of this week is Thursday, called Maundy Thursday.

WITH early morning It is important for everyone to take a shower and bath, this morning water has a special gift of cleansing, gives health and brings good luck for the whole year. We put on clean clothes.

We are finishing cleaning our house. After Maundy Thursday we don’t clean the house until next week.

It’s also important to remember: starting from Thursday, nothing is given from home, from small things like salt to borrowed money.

It is believed that water on this day has special properties, is capable of healing, makes lotions and can be used in spells and rituals. It can be collected in a container and used throughout the year when you or someone in your household gets sick. For healing, Thursday water can be drunk or applied to the sore spot as a compress.

We prepare Thursday salt, it will be useful for those who perform rituals and spells: all family members throw a pinch of salt into a common bag, mix it and put it away. This salt preserves the special energy of this day and the whole family. It is advisable to consecrate this salt in the Temple.

With pure thoughts and a tidy house, the sacred action begins on this day - baking Easter cakes and coloring eggs.

Thursday - on Maundy Thursday it was advised to cut your hair for the first time one year old child(before one year of age, cutting your hair was considered a sin), and girls were given the ends of their braids so that they would grow longer and thicker. All livestock were also advised to have their hair clipped for health and well-being.

There are many traditions associated with this day. On Maundy Thursday they cleaned the houses, washed and cleaned everything. It was customary to collect and burn juniper branches to fumigate homes and stables. It is believed that healing juniper smoke protects humans and animals from evil spirits and diseases.

There was also a belief that those demolished in Holy Thursday eggs eaten at Easter protect against illness, and egg shells buried in the ground in a pasture reliably protect livestock from the evil eye.

Starting from Maundy Thursday, they prepared for the festive table, painted and painted eggs. By ancient tradition Painted eggs were placed on sprouted green oats and wheat.

On Thursday morning they started baking Easter cakes, babas, small products from wheat flour with images of crosses, lambs, doves, larks, as well as honey gingerbread cookies. In the evening they prepared Easter.

Everyone in the family should take a handful of salt and pour it into one bag. This salt is removed and stored, and it is called “Thursday salt”, i.e. Maundy Thursday. You can use it to treat yourself, as well as your family and friends. This salt is used to make amulets for the family, livestock, garden, home, etc.

IN Holy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, it was customary to wash all domestic animals with water melted from snow - from cows to chickens - and burn the salt in the oven, which, according to folk beliefs, gained from this healing properties. In some villages, at midnight on Maundy Thursday, women were also ordered to douse themselves with water to protect themselves from illness.

If you wash your face before dawn on Maundy (Clean) Thursday, you need to say: “I wash away what they put on me, that with which my soul and body toil, everything is removed on Clean Thursday.”

On Easter morning they wash themselves with water left over from Maundy Thursday. It’s good to put a silver thing or a spoon in it, or maybe a coin. Wash for beauty and wealth. If a girl cannot get married, you need the towel with which she dried herself in Maundy Thursday, give it to people for Easter, to those who ask for alms, along with painted eggs and Easter cake. After this, they soon get married.

There was also a custom of burning crosses on doors and ceilings with a candle to protect the house from invasion. evil spirits. Passion candles were given into the hands of seriously ill people or those suffering from difficult childbirth; they have healing power. From Maundy Thursday it was forbidden to sweep the floor in the house until Easter.

On this day, you are allowed to eat hot vegetable food with vegetable oil twice a day.

Good Friday

Good Friday is a special day of compassion, on this day Jesus Christ was betrayed and crucified on the cross at Mount Golgotha. The Savior of the human race accepted martyrdom, thereby atonement for human sins. This is a day of special sorrow; it is not customary to work; the day should be dedicated to prayer.

There is a sign that any illness that happens on this day will be quickly cured.

Any problem that arises on this day will soon be well resolved.

Cooking on this day is going well. We continued to bake and prepare for Easter. “Angels help,” say pious people. On Friday they will sweep the corners with a rag; this rag will help get rid of lower back pain if you tie it around yourself. The same rag is used to wipe your feet in the bathhouse after washing so that your feet don’t hurt. Ash taken on the Friday before Easter will help cure alcoholism, black shaking, the evil eye and mortal melancholy.

On Good Friday, refrain from eating at all.

Holy Saturday

The last (quiet) tidy. You can also paint eggs. On this day, common holiday dishes are prepared. On Saturday they brought colored eggs, Easter cakes, Easter cakes and other items to church to be blessed. And before Easter night to go to service, they left a treat on the table so that later they could break their fast. True, they ate little by little - only symbolically, after which they went to bed. But late on Sunday morning the real feast began, which lasted all week.

Of course, all preparatory work: cooking, painting eggs must be completed before Easter.

On Saturday you can eat hot vegetable food once a day, but without oil.

Preparations for the Easter holiday end on Saturday. We paint eggs, bake Easter cakes, if this could not be done on Maundy Thursday.

Holy Week for Christian believers is a special period, not only the most difficult for the body, but also the brightest for the soul. Translated from Church Slavonic, “passion” means “trials and suffering.”

Holy Week is dedicated to the events in the dying days of Christ's earthly life: the Last Supper, betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. The Holy Week before Easter is also popularly called Red and Clean Week.

DAYS OF PASSION WEEK

Each day of Holy Week begins with the name “Great” and has its own greatness and meaning. Maundy Monday reminds us of the Old Testament patriarch Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, as a prototype of the suffering of Jesus Christ. We also recall the curse of the barren fig tree, symbolically showing the soul of a person without the fruits of faith, repentance and works of mercy.

BENEFITS OF FASTING

Compliance with Orthodox fasting provides very great benefits for the human body. Some people perceive it as a diet and assume that it is only useful for overweight people. This is wrong. The post is useful to everyone. Lenten foods mainly consist of cereals, fruits and vegetables, which contain a lot of fiber. Such food, like a universal cleaner, rids the body of waste and toxins, normalizes weight and makes the body healthier. AND one-day fasting They strengthen the body well. Reducing the volume of the stomach during fasting reduces the need for food, especially since lean food very healthy and nutritious. Fasting is useful for sick and healthy, thin and fat.

There is an opinion that Orthodox posts difficult to comply with, many expect hunger pangs. This is wrong. Those who try fasting are often surprised by how full they feel without eating. meat products. Nowadays, you can easily prepare a varied Lenten meal thanks to many recipes. Therefore, the question of what to eat during Holy Week does not pose a problem.

WHAT YOU CAN EAT DURING PASSION WEEK

Throughout this week, a particularly strict fast is required for the sake of the Passion of Christ and for worthy preparation for the meeting of Easter. During the last 7 days of Lent, you are allowed to eat:

Vegetables and fruits in fresh, dried, dried or any other form
Mushrooms
Fish (only on Annunciation, April 7)

It is forbidden to cook food, i.e. boil or fry it. Instead of thermally processed foods, you need to eat raw vegetables and fruits. At the same time, dishes prepared from them must be without the addition of vegetable oil. Drinks also have their own restrictions: only teas and some infusions are allowed. Of course, alcohol is completely prohibited. During Holy Week, one evening meal is allowed.

Of course, any organism, even with excellent health, small concessions must be allowed. Orthodoxy provides for a number of exceptions in the second half of Holy Week: starting from Thursday inclusive, Christians are allowed to eat hot vegetable foods prepared without adding oil. During this period, two meals a day are provided, including a small amount of red wine to maintain the strength of the body.

But such exceptions will need to be reserved for Good Friday, which involves complete abstinence from food. According to the Holy Scriptures, Christ was crucified on this day. Therefore, Good Friday is a difficult day not only physically due to complete refusal from food, but also spiritually, when a true Christian deeply experiences this tragic and terrible event.

During Lent, it is allowed to eat fish only twice: on the Annunciation, April 7, and on Palm Sunday, exactly one week before Easter.

Maundy Monday

Cold foods without oil (eg. sauerkraut with cranberries, salted mushrooms, bread). Any food is allowed, including boiled plant food no oil.

Maundy Tuesday

Cold food without oil (mushroom caviar without oil, fresh cabbage and carrot salad with lemon juice, prunes).

Great Wednesday

Cold food without oil (cucumber, tomato and onion salad, bananas with oranges, olives).

Maundy Thursday

Cold food without oil (daikon with carrots and lemon juice, nuts, apples). Any plant food with vegetable oil is allowed.

Good Friday

By folk tradition On Good Friday it is advisable to abstain from food altogether.

Great or Good Friday - on this day a particularly strict fast is observed in memory of the day when Christ was sentenced to death and made his way of the cross to Calvary. Before the removal of the shroud in churches (approximately 16:00) no food is taken. Afterwards - only raw plant foods without oil or complete abstinence from food.

Holy Saturday

After the morning service, believers bless Easter cakes, Easter cakes and eggs. Cold vegetable food without oil. Xerophagy.

Bright Sunday of Christ

An Easter service will take place on the night from Saturday to Sunday. After midnight you can break your fast. You need to start with easter eggs, Easter cake and Easter, and only then proceed to the main meal, including meat, fish, dairy products, and sweet desserts.