In Christianity, the Nativity Fast—or Fast of the Prophets in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church—is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and Catholic Church in preparation for the Nativity of Jesus on December 25. Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches commence the season on November 24 and end the season on the day of Ethiopian Christmas, which falls on January 7. The corresponding Western season of preparation for Christmas, which also has been called the Nativity Fast and St. Martin's Lent, has taken the name of Advent. The Eastern fast runs for 40 days instead of four or six weeks and thematically focuses on proclamation and glorification of the Incarnation of God, whereas the Western Advent focuses on three comings of Jesus Christ: his birth, reception of his grace by the faithful, and his Second Coming or Parousia.
The Three Young Men in the Fiery Furnace, celebrated during the Nativity Fast as a reminder of the grace acquired through fasting (15th century icon of the Novgorod school).
The Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, the Great Feast which falls during the course of the Nativity Fast (16th-century Russian icon).
Ethiopian Christmas is a holiday celebrated by the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox churches, as well as Protestant and Catholic denominations in Ethiopia, on 7 January.
Vigil lightening at Lalibela during Christmas
Haile Selassie playing the traditional sport
