According to the Orthodox tradition, the Dormition Fast is intended to prepare believers for the great feast - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The beginning of the Assumption Lent is a joyful day for Christians. According to the promise, the Mother of Jesus Christ is the Intercessor of all who resort to Her help, and believers during the fifteen days of fasting visit churches, offer glory to the Queen of Heaven and do works of mercy.
What is the point of fasting?
Abstinence from food and other carnal pleasures is the sacrifice of Christians to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. Traditions differ slightly in different parishes, so baptized people come to churches and learn from the priests exactly what they can eat during fasting. Ouspensky is very strict, but lasts only two weeks. Throughout the second half of August, the churches are full of believers who bring honey, apples and bread for consecration. Three Saviors give Christians three shields - from disease, hunger and poverty, and from evil people.
Honey Spas
Honey Savior, celebrated on August 14, marks the beginning of the Assumption Lent. He is considered the Savior on the water, the wet Savior. On this day, a large wooden cross is taken out of the altar in churches. The Orthodox come to bow to him and congratulate each other on the feast of the Ex altation, or Origin, of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Another name for the holiday is Poppy Spas in memory of the nine martyrs of the Maccabees. On this day, it is customary to bake unleavened cakes and eat them with poppy milk and honey. After the wet Savior, swimming in open water is prohibited.
Apple Spas
On August 19, Orthodox celebrate the Second Savior - Apple, or Savior on the mountain, and celebrate the Great Twelfth Feast - the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ. On this day, it is strictly forbidden to work. All Orthodox must take part in the procession.
Starting from this day, you can eat apples, cook apple compotes, jams, make marmalade, marshmallows and pies.
Khlebny Spas
This is the day when the Dormition Fast ends. Bread Savior, or nut, is considered the Savior on the canvas. It is celebrated on August 29, the day after the Dormition. At this time, the Transfer of the Image of Jesus Christ Not Made by Hands is celebrated.
Having honored the Creator and His Mother, bringing a bloodless sacrifice in the form of asceticism and offering a sincere prayer to God and the Blessed Virgin, the Orthodox receive help and protection from Them on earth, on water and in heaven. On the Day of AssumptionMother of God, when the Dormition fast ends, a festive table is being prepared. If the Assumption falls on Wednesday or Friday, then it consists of fish dishes and plant foods, and a quick feast with meat dishes is postponed to the next day.
Eligible Products
Food during Dormition fast corresponds to the most strict abstinence. The prohibitions on eating one or another food are the same as during Great Lent. Plant foods and locusts are what you can eat in fasting. Uspensky imposes a ban on meat, dairy food and fish. Vegetable oil is only available on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday - dry eating, that is, not boiled vegetables and fruits. Tuesday and Thursday - hot food without butter. These days you can eat seafood - squid, octopus, shrimp, etc., but not fish. It can only be eaten on the Feast of the Transfiguration. This is how the diet looks like in the Assumption Fast by day. Some parishes allow fish on Saturday and Sunday.
Popular dishes in Assumption Fast
The menu seems monotonous and does not welcome indulgence. However, fasting is also not required. During strict fasts, you can bake bread and cakes from different types of flour, sprinkled with seeds and nuts. Seafood is boiled in s alted boiling water for about one minute and eaten with lemon juice. Pickled and soaked fruits can be eaten with boiled pasta, potatoes and cereals. Fresh vegetables and spicy greens are cut into pieces, s alted and poured with natural fruit vinegar. Preparing fruit saladshoney and nut milk. They are not only very pleasant to the taste, but also useful. And this is not a complete list of what you can eat in the Assumption post. In stores, you can find oatmeal, which can be diluted with boiling water, nut milk, carrot juice, pumpkin, etc. Very tasty fresh tomatoes sprinkled with pepper and s alt and dried in the oven. On Saturday and Sunday, pies and strudels are baked with lean fillings and vegetable oil. If you cook mayonnaise without eggs, but in good oil and mustard with the addition of apple cider vinegar, then the menu for Assumption Post will not seem scarce at all.
Nut milk
Lean nut milk is great for filling a wide range of dishes. It is done quite simply. Moreover, you can use not only any nuts, but also poppy seeds, hemp, sesame seeds, pumpkins, etc. Pour boiling water over the nuts freed from the shell and remove the top film. She slides very easily. If a little remains - it does not matter. Nuts must be crushed with a pestle or grind with a blender, which is much faster. During the process, add water, a little at a time. It should turn out gruel. It can be squeezed through gauze, hung over a gravy boat, then you get real milk, or you can use it with grounds. Add a few grams of honey or sugar water.
Even easier to make this milk from ready-made nut flour, which is found in he alth food stores. It is enough just to mix it with sweetened boiled water. Use same day.
Salad frompumpkin and shrimp
To prepare this dish you will need the following products:
- fresh pumpkin;
- peeled boiled shrimp;
- canned green peas or corn;
- nut milk;
- boiled rice;
- avocado;
- turnip onion;
- oatmeal;
- s alt, pepper, nutmeg and natural fruit vinegar.
Peel, cut and stew the pumpkin with nut milk. When it is soft enough, take it out and leave to cool.
Prepare the dressing sauce. To do this, mix the oatmeal with the liquid in which the pumpkin was stewed, add grated nutmeg, s alt, pepper and vinegar. Bring to a boil and turn off immediately. Cool.
Avocado free from skin and pit and cut into cubes.
Peel the onion, chop finely and pour boiling water over to remove excess bitterness.
In a deep bowl put rice, peas, pumpkin, avocado, onion and shrimp. Pour in the sauce and mix gently. In half an hour you can taste. During this time, it will infuse and soak.
Strudel dough
Pour a glass of warm water into a bowl, add a pinch of s alt and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Stir and in small portions, through a sieve, add flour. Stir first in a bowl, then put on the table and knead, adding refined vegetable oil, about three tablespoons. You need as much flour as the dough takes - from 0.5 to one kilogram, taking into account rolling. Beat the dough on the table, wrap in a film andleave for 40-50 minutes to rest. Dust the table with flour and roll out the dough as thin as possible. Transfer to a floured sheet and continue to roll until translucent. From time to time, the dough should be removed from the canvas and turned over to the other side. Sprinkle the finished layer with breadcrumbs and put the filling on one half, stepping back from the edges by 5-7 cm. Using the fabric on which it lies, roll up the roll. Pinch the edges and roll up. Carefully transfer to a baking sheet with Teflon paper. Lubricate with a solution of strong, slightly sweet tea. Bake at maximum temperature for fifteen minutes, no longer.
The filling can be practically everything that can be eaten in the Assumption post. These include buckwheat porridge with onions, stewed cabbage, mashed potatoes with mushrooms, apples with dried apricots, poppy seeds, pumpkin with rice, spinach with soy cheese, and even seafood with fried onions and oatmeal.
