The Phillpian Star for the Nativity Fast

Such a beautiful tradition! It comes from the Slavic cultures and Eastern Europe, and is popular with many Eastern Christians. Similar to the Western tradition of Advent, the Nativity Fast (or The Phillipian Fast, or Philipovka/Filipovka) is the 40 day count-down that is marked by fasting, prayers and readings, and increasing light from the Phillipian Star: the beautiful candle holder in the center of it all. In this post I'll show you four styles my family has had, and how to use them.

In short: it is a six-sided candle holder in the form of a star, often the Star of David. A candle is lit each week of the Nativity Fast until you get to Christmas Eve and then the center candle is also lit. This evening light service is often accompanied by scripture readings, or a Jesse Tree, or some ritual that celebrates the story of this liturgical season.

This was our first Phillipian Star given to us by my eldest's godmother. I believe the men's group at the church made them as part of a workshop project with the children. It's wooden and holds standard size taper candles. You can see where the paint is worn from where I melted & chipped away the dripped wax. We put red candles at all the points of the star, and a gold or specially decorated candle in the center. Some people have many different colored candles with a theme to each week (more about that below). You can also make your own wooden taper candle holder easily; detailed how-to here. 

This one is not a candle holder at all. I sewed it for my little kids to do themselves without concern for fire. It's also space-saving since it hangs on the wall and doesn't take up precious counter or table top. The felt triangles and center circle (which used to have a golden design on it) adhere to the spots with velcro, and the little pocket at the bottom holds the unused pieces It folds up easily for storage till next year.

This one is pretty unique. It was made as a gift by the Sunday School/ECF teacher at church for the kids' families. Instead of a Star of David shape, it is a wooden board with an iconographic star shape painted on it with a Nativity icon in the center. The candles (either wax or battery operated) are set right on top, and each colored candle has it's own week's theme:
week 1: green, faith
week 2: blue, hope
week 3: yellow, love
week 4: white. peace
week 5: purple, repentance
week 6: red, communion
center candle: golden for the Incarnation

Here is another wall-hung example. You can see the details and instructions for this incredibly easy and affordable project here. Made from a place-mat and ribbon, it uses battery operated tea lights. I appreciate it so much since we have a small house and usable space is at a premium. I can leave it on and not be overly concerned about fire-curious children.


Your observance and use of your Phillipian Star can be as complicated or as simple as you want. The fullness of what this tradition can offer is beautiful! but only if it doesn't stress you out.
Sometimes, I can't add one more thing to the to-do list. In the years where a new child was welcomed, holidays (and life in general) got simplified a lot. We've just lit the candles, drank a warm beverage (hot cider, tea, hot chocolate), and the kids did a coloring page from the Nativity story while I read or sang something related. Other years, I made a pocket wall calendar that had an icon for every saint for every day, and also had a piece of paper with an activity suggestion on it.

Some additional links for further web-searching:
activity workbook:  https://ucymb.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/pilipivka-workbook.pdf
guide for phillip's fast for families: https://ucymb.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/st-philips-plan.pdf
ideas for the fast: http://www.sttheophanacademy.com/2011/11/living-nativity-fast.html
about in general: http://antiochian.org/nativity/pre-feast
excerpts of reflections by Thomas Hopko: http://puluka.com/home/liturgy/winter-pascha-reflections-on-phillipian-fast/

Tape Resist Orthodox Cross Art

This project is appropriate for all ages, requires little prep from the parent, and creates striking results! There's a kind of visual magic when the tape is removed, and both big and little kids will enjoy this.

I was inspired by this post on Sun Hats & Wellie Boots. and The Resourceful Mama. They did a simple cross, and we did an Eastern style cross for our Byzantine New Year party's art project. (get your printable Liturgical year icon wall calendar here) Not only does this provide experience crafting and painting, practicing motor skills, and exercising one's will to create a finished product, it also engenders greater familiarity with the shape of the tri-bar cross.

You'll need thick paper or canvases, paint brushes and paint (either acrylics or watercolors), and masking tape or painters tape. Optional supplies include newspaper as a work surface, and embellishments. Don't forget your homeschool teacher's id to get your discount at participating stores! 

Use your tape and make your cross shapes. You can be very precise about this if you want, though I just eyeballed it. Make sure to press down the edges of the tape a little extra if you are painting on a surface like canvas that isn't perfectly smooth.

Set out the paints and let the kids have at it!  The whole piece should be covered in color -- only the cross will remain white. Enjoy the process! There is no wrong way to do this.

After you've let the paint dry a little, peel off the tape. If you feel your artwork is complete then hooray! Or, let it dry a little longer to add the next layers. We used glitter glue, metallic paint pens, and stick-on jewels.

What a joy to see all the different styles and outcomes! So colorful and vibrant, every one.

Orthodox Nativity Study for the Advent Season

This year, I am going through this book of reflections: Orthodox Advent Study by Sylvia Leontaritis who is the blogger at Orthodox Mom. Our season of preparation towards the Feast of the Nativity, The Incarnation, begins mid November so we have a little extra time in our Eastern tradition to get into things.

Described as, "This 66-page eBook was created with the hope of assisting us to overcome the spirit of secularism by offering some simple things to ponder every day during the next six weeks.  We’ll also discuss some common misconceptions (Was it a stable or a cave? Were Mary and Joseph betrothed or married?) that will help us gain a better understanding of what really happened that holy night so many years ago in the city of Bethlehem.  
Included in this Advent Study are weekly devotionals, daily readings, and activities to help us remember who and what we are really celebrating at Christmastime."

The thing I like the most is that each reflection is _short_.  I'm a busy mom of five kids with a husband who provides for us by working many many hours -- getting time for basic self-care like a shower is nearly impossible so I am definitely not going to be able to get into depth with deeper readings, nor get all tied into learning & researching some deeper theology (much tho' I would love to).  The things presented here are partly reading scripture and writing your own short reaction/reflection to it (right on the page in the book -- no extra work or finding other pages or journal), and also thrown in are learning thing form our holy tradition (like, what is the symbolism of a particular related icon, and there are even some recipes for festive treats at the end.

Do Not Deny Your Body! The Great Fast

I hope the title of this blog article caught your attention; it's meant to. But what do I mean by that?

It is that time of year when people are participating in the Great Fast (Lent) in preparation towards Pascha (Easter).  The inevitable conversations and questions come up about the rules, the guidelines, what we are allowed to eat, and so forth. These things are good, as they give us a baseline to try from, but they are not the end goal of fasting. And if you already eat in this way (perhaps you are a vegan), you might have met the guidelines, but they don't serve you as tool towards growth. Or, you are able to eat veggie burgers instead of hamburgers, or make the perfect vegetarian cake from categories of foods that are "fast friendly" -- you have denied the spirit and usefulness of fasting by only looking at the letter of the law.


Your body needs nutrition to work properly, and the different stages, ages, and genders of your family members may need different physical nourishment to fulfil that. Are you a physical laborer? You cannot deny your body the proper fuel to make a living and support your family, and do your duty as a good worker. Are you a mother? Your ascetic life requires constant self denial and your bodily resources are used to nourish others; often literally! Are you a child? Your job right now is to learn and grow. Do you already have physical and health challenges that make life difficult? Do not worsen them by choosing a poor diet, even if it's temporary.

Do not deny the body what it needs -- the fast is not meant to deny the body, it is meant to deny the ego; it is meant to deny passion's control over you. If you make yourself sick, tired, ill, or lacking in energy, how will you fulfill your vocation in life? Be good to your body -- it is a valuable, sacred tool to be respected & loved. Do not allow your fasting understanding to become a semi-gnostic understanding of the body being bad, and the physical something to punish.


Let us not be pharisaic about the fast, desperately seeking the easy road of following the letter of the law: "Do not eat this; eat this" will not help you in your path. It is simply a tool to help you remember the power of your will, and your ability to direct your will towards that which it is most meant for: your vocation in life that leads you towards greater union with God, and union with one another in God.

Why the movie "Frozen" is Acceptable for Eastern Christians

I am very aware and picky about media and what we allow in our house.  The overt and subtle and implied messages of such impactful mediums like tv and movies are not to be underestimated.  

You can imagine my own surprise when I previewed a Disney film and found it acceptable for my family. But I actually found the themes in this film bolstered our family's understandings. I was dumbfounded.I think that's one of the reasons I like this movie so much -- it jives with our o/Orthodox world view & much of our view of how human nature works.


My qualms with the movie "Frozen" and so small that they're almost not worth mentioning. A sexist gibe about blond hair being unmanly, and the sexy clothing Elsa changes/transforms in to are not really age appropriate (but there is truth about human life phases presented in that, as well). 

There are several themes in the film that are worth exploring -- and wonderfully noteworthy that they are presented in such a commercial children's film. This blog post is going to focus on the meaning/s of "Let It Go" and the nature of Elsa' transformation as surrender and release; the letting go of fear, anger, and resentment.  Through relationship Elsa actually gains a kind of control through surrender. It's one of the major paradoxs of Christian life.

Fr Michael Mandelas once told me that all fear and anger are a reaction to lack of control. Elsa's powers were out of control and harming others becasue she was out of control -- her own attempts at control were an illusion. All control is an illusion, and when we give in to the ego's whisperings that we can in fact control life, control others, we are very possibly falling into a spiralling trap that feeds on itself and takes us further away from our desired path with God. 




In the moments of the song, Elsa lets go of the fear & resentment -- but not entirely. She takes the first steps to be a conscious & active agent in her own life by moving beyond, cutting free the past, and trying to start new. She is taking the powerful first steps in shedding the abuse and cultural expectations that are holding her back from her potential and happiness.

It is not until Love is re-established in Elsa's life by the grace of her sister Anna's actions that she can really release the fear and anger, and surrender the control. That is when the path is clearer to her to become healed and moving rightly again. In the Eastern Christian view of the world, our salvation is not an individual pursuit -- the key lies in communion with on another, community and active participation in one another's lives. Elsa can't do it alone. 


When we live in love and trust in God, we no longer need the clinging to control, and the fear, resentment, and anger will begin to no longer have a place in our lives; they will no longer control us.

fear does not prevent death -- it prevents life

It seems very Eastern to me -- letting go of the ego, and not letting one's passions control oneself is the way to peace, self control, and however a person practices their asceticism, whatever path gets them there, the eventual goal is to "let it go" so that the block to relationship with God is no longer there.

When Elsa surrendered & understood that she was really, truly loved and valued as evidenced by Anna's act, she was able to let things flow and her abilities were able to finally be manifested for good instead of a reaction to the abuse & isolation she had suffered for years.The talents she had been given by God, and purposefully created with, were finally about to come to real fruition and use. 

Book: "The Aescetic Lives of Mothers"

Based on the below review from Orthodox Christian Parenting. 

Also available here from Amazon. 


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Gleanings from a Book: "The Ascetic Lives of Mothers: a Prayer Book for Orthodox Moms" by Annalisa Boyd

“I heard it said once that motherhood is a type of asceticism. Like the ascetics, mothers find themselves in a situation that requires their utter devotion, self-denial, daily emotional exercises, facing extreme challenges, and much prayer.” (p.17-18)

Those of us who are mothers know this to be true. There are many moments in each day when we give up our own desires to meet the needs of those around us; especially those of our children. How, then, do we have time to “pray without ceasing” while meeting those needs? Annalisa Boyd meets that question head-on in the introduction to her uplifting and helpful book, The Ascetic Lives of Mothers: a Prayer Book for Orthodox Moms.

This book is a must-have for any Orthodox mom who wants to prayerfully raise her children in the Faith. The heartening chapters at the beginning of the book set the reader’s mind at ease that she is not the only mother going through tough circumstances or wondering how on earth to live her Faith in the midst of the mundane tasks of motherhood. The bulk of the book is the myriad of prayers for various situations, which have been carefully gathered and organized by topic, and can therefore be easily found. The book includes basic daily prayers, prayers for times of trouble, prayers for the sick, preparation for confession, prayers of blessing and thankfulness, prayers through the stages of motherhood, prayers for godchildren and other “bonus” children, prayers for the future, and more.

A highlight of the book (and the largest chapter of all), titled “Tea Time at the Abyss”, references this quote:

“Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little and have a cup of tea.” ~ Elder Sophrony of Essex

In this chapter’s introduction, Boyd reassures the reader, “Let us step back and take tea together as mothers. Of course we may not be able to sit at each other’s tables and sip a perfectly steeped pot together, but we can pray for one another and be an encouragement. We can make a pot of gratitude for all the Lord has blessed us with and sip it throughout the day through prayer and the reading of His word. We can choose to face the difficulties, in the strength of Christ our Lord and lay down the idea that we must somehow bear it all. How freeing is that thought alone? May we take hold of even the smallest moments each day to enter into prayer, allowing us to step back and drink in Christ, for He promises to quench our thirst and give us His peace. Thank God!” (p. 38-39) The rest of the chapter lists topics from “Addiction” to “Special Needs,” which include quotes from scriptures and saints, as well as prayers related to each topic. (Note: some of the prayers in this book are prayers prescribed by the Church. Others are “simply prayers from the heart of one mama to another… (to) be used for encouragement and to promote your own personal prayer time with Our Lord.” ~ pp. 11-12)

This book is a wonderful aid to mothers at any stage in life. While it is aimed primarily at mothers, many of the quotes and prayers will be just as uplifting and useful for fathers, as well. It will be a much-used companion to any parent who adds it to their library and then faithfully uses it to help them to “pray without ceasing.”

“It is of great significance if there is a person who truly prays in a family. Prayer attracts God’s Grace and all the members of the family feel it, even those whose hearts have grown cold. Pray always.” ~ Elder Thaddeus

The Ascetic Lives of Mothers: a Prayer Book for Orthodox Moms by Annalisa Boyd is available for purchase here: http://store.ancientfaith.com/the-ascetic-lives-of-mothers/

Follow the author’s blog, “The Ascetic Lives of Mothers,” here: http://theasceticlivesofmothers.blogspot.com/

Centerpiece Stand-ups of the Twelve Great Feasts -- free printables!

The Twelve Great Feasts are an important way to mark the passing of the year for our families (get your icon wall calendar activity here).  The fantastic folks at Orthodox Christian Parenting wrote about an available resource for these feast days as a great activity, and and extra way to bring attention and focus to the event. I have copied the note in it's entirety here:



The feasts of the Church year are important times for all Orthodox Christians to celebrate! The Antiochian Orthodox Department of Christian Education (AODCE) would like to highlight a resource available on their website, which can be helpful to families looking for ideas of ways to enhance their celebrations of these feasts. The AODCE offers free feast day “stand-up” centerpieces which can be printed directly from their website (at http://www.antiochian.org/1127698508) onto cardstock. After printing, the centerpieces can be folded according to the instructions on each page, and when the slotted ends are tucked together the page forms a stand-up centerpiece.

Each centerpiece is composed of two different sides that will show when the centerpiece is folded into a stand-up. One side displays the icon of the feast, the date(s) of celebration, and a brief description of the feast and icon. The other side of the centerpiece also shows the icon; and has the troparion of the feast printed beside it.

Here are the printable feast stand-ups (click the links to see them):

The Nativity of Mary the Theotokos (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/7a5285a4ee783b7342ff8f4e1a99f02b.pdf)
The Exaltation of the Cross (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/804f8cedc57699833cfee4824634a4b5.pdf)
The Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/cacb8660b29bdc97f8e8283ff567634e.pdf)
The Nativity of Christ (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/4d33a647e547b8169d0bb7239ee7754f.pdf)
Theophany: The Baptism of Christ (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/aae2368f6b752c8cba042e21917405cc.pdf)
The Meeting of Christ in the Temple (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/0c607395223b6d3ca63332d11fef1dae.pdf)
The Annunciation (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/43f0fb26601fcc6eb2ee888d5b18ab37.pdf)
The Transfiguration of Christ (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/44cc08f7375825e0a722417e140a9cce.pdf)
The Dormition of the Theotokos (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/abbe11671878e0c8d20d278ea0ae08af.pdf)
The feast of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/d5aa72ed369c7b1fc58ddd93ebde329a.pdf)
The feast of the Lord’s Ascension (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/e99a5a84333ba33b10a74cfd228c33c6.pdf)
The feast of Pentecost (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/aa2cecccf942072bd7af8ff6fbfcd23b.pdf)
Pascha (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/assets/asset_manager/9787c3e3606169868df3c45ca8d46e7c.pdf)

Here are some ideas of ways to utilize this resource with your family:
1. Print the stand-ups one at a time, as each feast in the church year arrives.
2. After printing the stand-up, encourage your children to color the icons on it. (The icons are small, so colored pencils or fine-tipped markers will probably work best.) While they color, discuss the feast day and the festal icon together. What do you see in the icon? Why is that written into the icon? What can you learn from the icon about the feast? etc. (If you do this year after year, you may want to make notes of the discussion and/or answers your children give to these questions on the back/inside of the stand-up, before you fold and use it, and then at the end of the feast, unfold the stand-up, date it, and keep it in a binder for future reference. It will be interesting to look back, years later, and see how your child’s coloring and thinking skills have progressed!)
3. Place the stand-up where you can see it and be reminded of which feast we are currently celebrating. Perhaps you want to make it a part of your kitchen or dining room table centerpiece, or maybe you will place it in the family prayer corner: wherever it will be seen and can be used as a reminder.
4. Together as a family, sing the troparion of the feast. The words are printed right on the stand-up. (And the music for many of the festal troparia can be found here: http://www.antiochian.org/music/library/889#library_search.) Sing the troparion at morning or evening prayers, before a meal, etc. Let the troparion help your family remember that it is a feasting time, and why.
5. At the end of the year, challenge your family a “Feast Day Challenge.” Challenges can include working together to put the stand-ups in order according to the Church Year calendar (without looking at the dates on them). You could also ask each member of the family to tell something that they remember about each feast and/or the festal icon. Another idea would be to have a “fill-in-the-blank” contest where you read part of the troparion, omitting part of it, and seeing who can remember the missing part.
6. Save the stand-ups to reuse year after year, or disassemble them and save them in a binder as suggested above, if you want to keep track of your children’s coloring/answering progress. If you decide not to save them, cut out the two icons from each stand-up and make a matching/ “go-fish” game with the pieces, at the end of the year; or use them to decorate cards for godparents or lonely parishioners.

The feasts are such an important part of the Church year that it is imperative that we find ways to highlight and celebrate them. Creating your own copies of the AODCE’s stand-up centerpieces is a small yet tangible way that we can involve our children in preparing for the feast. After they are made, the stand-ups become a visible reminder of what it is we are celebrating, a resource of information, and a way to keep the festal icon and troparion before us throughout the course of the feast.

Kids Belong at the Liturgy

Taking kids to church: It's a struggle to be sure, but it's worth it.  Stick with it, brave parent -- this is not an easy vocation to live.

"Let little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of God." (Luke 18:16)

Kids need to be present to the Liturgy; it is our Eastern tradition that the celebration is not just a message or a gathering, nor a simple prayer service.  Not only do children need to receive the sacraments, but they need exposure and immersion in the act of worship. The sensual/sensory aspects of it (sights, sounds, smells, taste of the Eucharist, and feel of the richness around you) is an integral and essential part of our religious practice. To remove a child from that experience would be anti-Eastern Christian. It is core to the understanding of religion in this tradition. 

It's up to the people of the parish to make it more friendly for the kiddos, and to offer support & patience to parents. And for parents to learn that this, too, shall pass, and there will be quiet church times ahead -- but right now is is the epic & awesome formative time to instil a love of the art & ritual of what we have to offer in the o/Orthodox tradition. 

I think kids being fidgety & a little noisy is healthy. The Church Fathers continually warn against forcing children to sit still and "behave" beyond what their years are capable of, because we want them to learn to love the Liturgy, to love to pray, instead of associating it with negativity, painful constraint, and thinking only "Is it over yet? Can I be done now?"

No child under 6 should be expected to sit still & be quiet for such a long time. I think that there is a balance to be learned about what level of "fidget" is acceptable that will get them through. My eldest child's godmother once told me "children's natural prayer posture is the wiggle".

If you are attending a Liturgy, and see some parents struggling, give them your support.  Tell them what a good job they are doing! They are trying, really, really hard. Let them know that as they get through this difficult time of the early years, that their community does not mind, and in fact loves to see their children there. These little people are the future of our Church. 


(addendum: Some people have suggested that my theory is all nice sounding, but I really don't know what I'm talking about on a practical level. At eh time of this blog post, I have four children on the outside [ages 7, 5, 3, and 2] and am pregnant with a fifth kidlet due in two and a half months to come to the outside. I have several young children, I know it's rough, I know there is a lot to balance. I write the above blog post not only from the heart and mind, but also from experience.)

Keeping Track of the Liturgical Year with an Icon Wall Calendar

When I saw this, I knew it was something we should do.  As my six year old is getting more interested in calenders and the passage of time, I knew this was something we had to do.  This poster style Liturgical calender done visually in icons was just the right thing to add to or wall.  A person could make it fancier and include more feasts if they wanted, but we just stuck to the Twelve Great Feast plus Pascha.  We mostly followed the instructions on the link, with some modifications that fit the way I do things.

Instead of measuring even spaces out for each icon, I used a jig each time to make it go more quickly.  In this case, a box of chicken broth and a gluten-free mac'n'cheese box did the trick.  I chose this style of cross for my clothes-pin moving marker because it fit the particular clothes pin I had the best. 

Here is our finished wall calendar in action, currently set at Pentecost:














On our version, the backing was made from five pieces of construction paper taped edge to edge.  I really like this size because it is large enough to easily see what each icon is, and it takes up a pleasant length of the wall implying to the kiddos by its size that this is an important thing to pay attention to.

Below you will see image files (which are rather imperfect, btw, but are at least close in size to one another) I made you can use to print out & make your own, and for easy reference, here are the Twelve Great Feasts and Pascha listed in order of the Liturgical Year which starts in September along with their dates: 

September 8, the Nativity of the Theotokos
September 14, the Exaltation of the Cross
November 21, the Presentation of the Theotokos
December 25, the Nativity of Christ/Christmas
January 6, the Baptism of Christ - Theophany, also called Epiphany
February 2, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
March 25, the Annunciation
The Sunday before Pascha - Entry into Jerusalem, Flowery/Willow/Palm Sunday
Forty Days after Pascha - the Ascension of Christ
Fifty Days after Pascha - Pentecost
August 6, the Transfiguration
August 15, the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos

If you click on these images, you will see they are really quite a bit larger than what they are being displayed at.  Simply right click and save.  When you print them, make sure the printer setting are such that the image fills the page and does not print it at the original or cropped size.


I have also included three style of cross to choose from to place on the moveable clothes-pin marker.  If I did this again, I would reinforce the tri-bar cross marker with card stock of somesuch because as it gets handled the edges kinda' want to curl. 

Enjoy! and I hope this will bring blessings to your home. :)

Making Their Own Little Prayer Books

It can be hard to find really neat-o Eastern Christian books for kids, and the nice ones that are out there are often cost prohibitive. I was rather delighted when I found this blog post from Our Little Monkeys.  They made their own prayer books on the cheap, and quite creatively, I might add.

She has kindly made the .pdf for making the books available to folks who ask (download it here). We did it for ourselves, and even tho' we were simply slipping in the pre-printed pages into our little photo albums, the girls were quite proud of their books. I placed prayers and associated icons together, and otherwise I let them  chose their own order. This was not a good group project, but ended up being better as something each kiddo did on her own.