When the mind is free of any thoughts of earthly needs, the soul is prepared to look at the light of intransience. The beauty of the surrounding world suddenly becomes brighter and we feel stronger affection for our fellows. This helps us become aware that earthly trouble is nothing more than a test making us stronger and steering us to a discovery and respect for good. This is the meaning of Christian fasting practices that four times a year urge the faithful to rethink their lives and tidy up their system of values. Abstaining from certain foods is not simply a diet but a way to attain harmony of soul and flesh:

"The Nativity Fast is now ahead”, says Bishop Tikhon, Chairman of theTrustees Board of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. “Everybody is keen to know what should be done and what should be avoided during fasting. In brief we have to have to abstain from animal meat. Fish is allowed only on a few special occasions, and crab-like food and snails are allowed all the time.However this is hardly a thing that should interest us so much. It is more important to know that Nativity Fast is a way to prepare for the upcoming Nativity of Christ, a feast related to the greatness of God. The Creator sent His Son to the Earth but not as a dignitary of some kind but as an ordinary man. The fact that the Son of God was born in a manger, in a grotto, does not imply He acted with humility but that He was ready to start from the lowest level of social dependence. For many years we were being taught that we are all equal. No, we are not: some are smarter or more stupid than others; there are rich and poor, kindhearted and not so kind at heart. We are only equal in the eyes of our Lord. He equally cares for the souls of a university professor and a thief. This can make us democrats: given that everybody is equal in the eyes of God, everybody has an equal right to define their future.”

During fasting we often mention the word „humility”. According to Bishop Tikhon, in present-day notions it means not take oneself too seriously and not to pretend to be someone else. "What we are has been given to us by God. We ought to keep it intact and used for the wellbeing of our fellows. We should in no way imagine we have attained something from somewhere, because everything has been given to us for temporary use only.”

"When we prepare for the feast of Nativity, when God comes to us to tell us how to get released from the original sin, we should sharpen our awareness to be able to receive this message in its intensity. If we blindly copy traditions of eating vegan dishes over straw on the floor - we have come to nowhere. Instead, we should get into the essence of things. On the first year the process could be a challenge, and on the next it will become easier to carry out. We want to make out what He wants to tell us and if we listen to the voice of the church, it will be easier. He wants a single thing from us - no matter how hard it could be, we have to learn to love: to love not someone very smart, rich and generous, but the ordinary. When we demonstrate love as a principle in our lives, the curse of eating our bread in the sweat of our faces will no longer cause us to suffer. Whoever does something with love, will never grow tired. That is why Christ came to the Earth. When women give birth with love, the pains of labor are forgotten in a second. Fasting is a way to prepare to love; to stop paying so much attention to yourself, to what you eat or drink; to sharpen the senses for the joy of communication; to see things you used to ignore. My message to readers and listeners is to try and not to succumb to the massive commercialization of Christmas. It is sin to give presents that no one actually needs and only as a way to demonstrate wealth. A rich man is the one who collects spirit and courage in his heart and it only comes to those who have learned to love.”

English Daniela Konstantinova