Friday, August 10, 2012
WE'VE MOVED: CHECK OUT FASTING IN THE COPTIC TRADITION ON OUR NEW SITE: CopticDadandMom.com
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[Update: Here's the follow up post on The Why of Fasting]
First, the lingo: fasting food is called siami (see-ya-mee) and non-fasting food is called fitari (feh-tah-ree). Copts like to fast, and we do it a lot!
Fasting in the Coptic tradition involves two aspects: restricting the kinds of food we eat and restricting when we eat it.
The Kinds of Food We Eat
When we Copts say we are "fasting," we mean that we're on a vegan-style diet. We don't eat meat or dairy products for days or weeks at a time. Some fasts allow fish (seeing as we live on the Mediterranean and some of the disciples were fishermen). In Egypt, we would be living on fava beans and falafel (foul and ta3meya); here in the States I'm often living on french fries and veggie burgers.
That often means that come feast time (eid)... we are ready for a good slab of beefy goodness (lahma). Or if you're me, a big slab of aged salty cheese.
When We Eat
Usually when we are fasting, we restrict not only the kinds of food that we eat but when we can eat it. This is pretty flexible depending on your personal spiritual discipline. Most people fast "inqita3y" (without any food) for at least 12 hours (from 12 a.m. to 12 p.m.). Many people continue to fast inqita3y until 3 p.m. Others push it to 5 p.m. This means no morning cup of coffee, no breakfast, and for some no lunch or snacks till dinner. This also means no water (health exceptions aside).
We Fast
- nearly every Wednesday and Friday (vegan-no fish)
- for Advent, the period before Christmas, for 40 days (fish OK except on Wed/Fri)
- for the fast of Jonah (also called Ninevah's fast) for 3 days in February (no fish)
- for Lent, the period before Easter, for 55 days (no fish)
- for the fast of the Apostles from Pentecost to July 12 (fish OK except on Wed/Fri)
- for the fast of St. Mary from Aug. 7-21 (fish OK except on Wed/Fri)
(add to each of these days whatever percentage without food that one is able to do)
We also fast without food for at least nine hours before taking Communion in Divine Liturgy. So, there's no pancake breakfast before you head off to church on Sundays.
One can add to any of these fasts, fasting from sexual relations, from TV/computer, and so on, but the foundation is (lack of) food with an increase prayers.
Since fasting is such a big part of our lives, expect me to talk about it regularly. But I'll try to take it one fast at a time :). Sigh. Nutella is fitari. This always gets me.
Now you know more than you cared to... haha.
[Note: You'll see that I have updated the title of this post. In my desire to organize the how of fasting, I neglected to say a word about the why... Topic for a future post!]
which veggie burgers work for y'all? to my knowledge, morningstar farms and gardenburger have cheese and eggs in them.
ReplyDeleteYeah, many veggie burgers are not vegan. Some Copts don't let this bother them too much (focusing on the spirit of the law over the letter). I come from an ultra-strict "read the label" kind of family, so I buy Boca vegan burgers from Sam's Club (http://www.samsclub.com/sams/boca-meatless-burgers-original-vegan-16-ct/155415.ip?searchTerm=boca%20burger). They are gigantic and taste fine to me. I drown burgers in ketchup and mustard anyway :).
DeleteThank you for explaining! That's a lot of fasting, and pretty intense. It seems a little overwhelming to me...
ReplyDeleteYou know, Maya, on paper it looks much harder than it is. Instead of "Meatless Mondays," we have Vegan Wednesdays and Fridays. When you're born into it or once you get used to it, it's just life as usual. Going kosher, for example, must be just as complicated (or these days there's going "gluten-free"). At first it seems impossible, and then nothing seems more natural :). Some people are vegan all the time!! I'm thankful for my fitari (meats and cheeses!) days.
ReplyDeleteTasoni- starting to keep kosher mostly felt pretty fluid for me. But then, I did it the easy way- I started keeping kosher when I started college, so I got to work myself into the mindset with the help of the kosher dining hall. So by the time I was setting out to set up my own kitchen, the rhythms had already integrated in my head. There were a few foods that were a little sad to give up, but mostly, my enthusiasm carried me through that pretty easily.
DeleteI'm not gluten-free myself- but my father was diagnosed with celiac only a few years after I started keeping kosher. It seemed harder to learn to deal with that- but you're right, you just adjust.
The thing is- when it's someone else's practice, it seems much harder, I guess, than when it's what you yourself have a. gotten used to and b. ascribe significant meaning to.
Thank you for the information. Surprisingly hard to find without dissecting lots of scripture on the internet.
ReplyDeleteZH
I know, right? These are the facts, haha. As best as I could get them down.
DeleteThis is the hardest part of being married to a Copt!! I feel like every time I start making dinner I've forgotten that it's Wednesday or the feast of so and so. We're not so strict about it with kids in the house but my in laws are militant. I avoid seeing them because sometimes I just cannot even look at one more plate if tame ya ;-)
ReplyDeleteHahaha... Trust me. I've been there. "Oh wait it's Wednesday? So what in the world am I supposed to do with that salmon I've been thawing!" And I come from that militant family :D! Thankfully, the Internet and my college roommates have introduced me to 10,000 options and international cuisines by the boatloads. Most fasts, I don't even make fava beans... I actually miss it! I actually get excited when they make foul or ta3meya sandwiches at church because the cans of foul in my house are mostly for the in-laws when they visit! God be with you :D! We all have our crosses :D!
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