The other night, on television, there was a commercial showing an old village priest clandestinely cutting into a tube of some processed meat product, unable to resist its deliciousness. Unfortunately for him, he did it in front of the window, and he did it during the Christmas fasting period. And we all know how small towns work. A neighbour passes by, chastises him… and smilingly joins in the peccadillo.

Midnight of November 14 marked the end of Koledni zagovezni (Christmas Shrovetide), the last day on which one could eat meat before the Koledni posti (Christmas fasting) began, this year on November 15. These 40 days before Christmas are also called the Advent.

Like Moses in the Old Testament fasted for 40 days before receiving the Ten Commandments from God, and Jesus fasted in the desert in the 40 days after John baptised him in the river Jordan, so people have continued to fast and do fast now in order to purify themselves, both physically and spiritually.

Here in Bulgaria, there are two major fasts - Koledni and Velikdenski (Easter, i.e., Lent) - that take place the 40 days before the appropriate holiday as part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In both cases, the fasting is not only physical and related to not eating certain foods, but also mental and spiritual. This follows Old Testament traditions, where fasting was done in preparation for feast days and as a sign of humility before God.

During fasting periods, as observed by the Bulgarian Orthodox church, one is not to consume foods of animal origin, which includes milk, yoghurt, cheese and eggs. Effectively, the diet is vegan. Released from the milk-product abstention are children, pregnant women, the sick, and elderly people.

However, on the day of St Nicholas, December 6 (called Nikoulden in Bulgarian), one is allowed to eat fish, traditionally in the form of ribnik, a carp baked in dough. (The third-century saint is said to have shown concern for sailors and ships.)

Oil and wine are permitted save on Wednesdays and Fridays.

In addition, the last week before Christmas is an even stricter fast, with Christmas Eve being the strictest (or most restricted) of all. This is in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity (December 25).

Weddings are forbidden from the first day of the Koledni posti until the Vuvedenie Bogorodichno (The Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple, celebrated annually on November 21). They are again forbidden from Ignazhden (December 20, the day of St Ignatius, the God-Bearer of Antioch) to Bogoyavlenie/Yordanovden (January 6, Epiphany). However, the World Synod permits in exceptional cases parish priests to perform marriages from December 26 to January 4, without having to have previous permission obtained from the metropolitan.

In the 52 days leading up to Epiphany, only civil marriages are allowed.

While the abstention from certain kinds of food, or even sex and daily pleasures such as partying and television, has become the more popular - and, in many ways, easier to follow - interpretation of fasting, it is important to point out that the goal of this is not public piety, but a true personal desire and effort to become closer to God, as is emphasised by a number of church leaders, and also stated in the Bible (cf. Matthew 6:16-18, which says: "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.").

Sofia resident Evgenia A fasts for spiritual reasons, "before the holidays, like the Bible says, as a form of purification and preparation", she said. For her, it is a time to "think on questions of bad and good, on spiritual questions. The meaning of fasting isn't only in food, it's also in thinking of the messages that Jesus gives to us, and to stick to them, in the way you act towards people, towards yourself, towards those close to you".

At age 39, she has been keeping Koledni and Velikdenski posti for more than nine years. Evgenia said that prior to that, she used to keep to them on and off, but now fasts more regularly, as per the church calendar. "I don't remember exactly why I did it," she said. "After a conversation with close friends, after I lost some people close to me, and I felt closer, then, to religion."

In observing the fasts, though she foregoes meat, she is more concentrated on inner cleansing.

While not eating meat is a slight challenge, she said that "to try to be better, to not think bad of others" is more difficult.

"All these things that are spiritual are harder than the not eating. I'm not much of a glutton. It's more important what is in your thoughts than what is on your tongue. If you're at a party, it's not that bad to have a small piece of something, for social reasons. I think it's more important to be clean in your thoughts."

Midnight of Budni vecher (Christmas Eve) concludes the Advent fast.

According to Bulgarian tradition, Mary went into labour on Igazhden and on Christmas Eve, gave birth to the baby Jesus. The new mother, who had given birth for the first time, did not announce the child until the next day, which is when the visitors were summoned.

On Christmas Eve, the Yule log, the manger, incense and ritual bread play an important role. The Yule log (called budnik in Bulgarian) is a specially chosen three-year old plumb tree, which a boy should cut down in the woods, carry home and ignite. Belief has it that the log would stay alit through the entire year.

The Christmas Eve table is the base for a great - and still vegan - feast. It must be copious, and set with an odd number of dishes, typically five, seven or nine. Tradition preparations include boiled wheat kernels, boiled beans, grape leaves stuffed with rice or bulgur, and dried fruit compote; also garlic, nuts, honey, onions saved from summer, fresh fruit, wine and rakiya. This would be representative of every preserved or dry thing produced in the previous year.

Also on the table is placed dried wheat and the kolak, a ring-shaped cake, left over from Ignazhden.

In parts of western Bulgaria, and the Teteven, Plovdiv and Macedonia regions of the country, a freshly baked loaf of bread containing a piece of silver also joins the table.

This is possibly the most important family event of the year.

The Christmas Eve meal begins early, to encourage early wheat. Among other traditions, while eating, people are not to rise from the table, to let chickens brood or to allow chicks to hatch. A place is left open at the table, to represent a dead family member. Also, the table is not cleared and dishes are not washed, because it is believed that the beloved dead come back to feast as well.

The return to meat and dairy comes on Christmas day, with, one should hope, a cleansed mind and spirit for the coming year.