www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Birthday or Name Day During Lent?

For those whose birthdays or Name Day's fall during Lent, do you still observe the fast, or do you relax the fast and celebrate?

I'm in favor of relaxing the fast and celebrating--after all, our fasting is supposed to be *secret*, anyway:

I have always celebrated.

Even while Fasting there are ways of celebrating.

On the Western calendar my end of February birthday rarely falls outside of Lent.

Mine never falls outside of Lent, and while I agree that it is possible to celebrate one's birthday and still fast, that very idea is alien to both my family and my wife's family, as well as to virtually the entire communities in which we live and work.

So what do you do, then, Athanasius the L? Mine, too, always falls in Lent, and unless it coincided with the Triduum (when I was growing up as an Anglican - hence the terminology), then I still celebrated.

Hi Ryan,

How wonderful that your birthday is still celebrated with so much fanfare from the ones you love!

I would suggest that you just 'go with the flow' out of love and respect for your family (think of them as your 'hosts') and just try not to overdo it on the cake and other goodies.

Another suggestion might be that you just avoid meat and nothing else.

Finally, remember the old Orthodox adage that the true spirit of the Fast does not insult one's hosts when offered food.

Best regards,
Alice

That's pretty much the approach we take around here, too. My eldest son's birthday often falls during Lent. In 11 years, it has fallen on Good Friday once, but he was too young to notice. This year it will be on Monday of Holy Week. We'll celebrate it on Palm Sunday. Next year, his 13th birthday will fall on Good Friday. We've already talked about it, and he has decided to celebrate it on Bright Monday.

I am not able to fast and abstain with the austerity I did when younger and healthier.

However today, my name day, I ate a couple of egg cheese biscuits at my favorite fast food place.

It is very rare that my birthday (March 20) would fall during the Triduum. Generally, we celebrate birtdays at my father-in-law's house (my parents live in a different state). Typically, my father-in-law bakes a cake and serves ice cream. He's also generous enough that he'll cook the meal of your choosing (within reasonable price). However, this year, I've tried to be more traditional in my approach to the Great Lent. My wife, our son, and a friend went to an Italian restaurant where I ordered spaghetti with pomodoro sauce. I didn't intend to order any dessert, but my wife had mentioned to our server that it was my birthday, so he brought a bowl of ice cream after the meal was over. I shared the ice cream with my wife and son. I'm not trying to be overly scrupulous about this, but at the same time, I'm trying to be more faithful to the Fast. In any case, I appreciate everyone's replies.

What a nice father in law you have!!

Happy Birthday to you!

(I guess I must have missed the virtual cake)

Sounds like you struck a fine balance.

Many years!

Thank you, Alice.