Recipes

Orthodox Liturgical Seasons & Feast Days

Celebrations surrounding feast days are an integral part of our Orthodox tradition. The custom of sharing food and festivities after liturgical events is a practice that has been observed for ages.

Each and every Orthodox country has its share of traditional dishes made from recipes handed down for generations. Many times the entire meal is prescribed by custom and even its smallest detail is symbolic in meaning.

My hope is that you will find many recipes that you will enjoy trying and that in doing so you will enter more fully — even in the natural order — into the Church's celebration of its mysteries. Note that many of the recipes mentioned are not necessarily passed down traditions, but are available to help children connect with the elements of story, and enjoy the feast at an age appropriate level.

If you are looking specifically for one of the 12 Great Feasts:

12 Great Feasts

If you are looking for a specific saint feast day, check out Orthodox Saints A-Z Search:

Orthodox Saints

If you are looking for a month by month liturgical living:

Month by Month

Fun Food Ideas:

Featured

pascha basket, traditional pascha basket, Holy Week, April, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes, Lent, Pascha, May

How to Put Together a Traditional Pascha Basket

pascha basket, traditional pascha basket, Holy Week, April, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes, Lent, Pascha, May

If you’re new to creating a Pascha basket, welcome! I’m glad you found this little blogpost. My hope is to share an example of a Traditional Pascha basket, which stems from the Russian tradition, and share what each item symbolizes.

pascha basket, traditional pascha basket, Holy Week, April, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes, Lent, Pascha, May

St John the Baptist, June, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, J, Recipes, January

Locust and Honey Crescent Rolls for St John the Baptist

St John the Baptist, June, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, J, Recipes, January

We know from the Bible that St. John lived in the wilderness, preaching repentance, preparing the people’s hearts to receive Him and paving the way for our Lord’s ministry. Did you know what he ate while in the wilderness…. ? Locust and honey! For his feast day, we made some yummy crescent rolls to look like locust, and topped them with honey!

St John the Baptist, June, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, J, Recipes, January

st basil, January, Feast Day, Recipes, December, 12 Days of Christmas

New Year's Tradition: Vasilopita

st basil, January, Feast Day, Recipes, December, 12 Days of Christmas

Did you know that January 1st is the feast day for St Basil the Great? If you're looking for a way to ring in the civil New Year with our hearts and minds focused on the Lord, look no further than the Vasilopita tradition! ✨ Vasilopita✨ is a sweet bread or cake with a coin baked inside! In this guide you will find more about the many Greek traditions surrounding this feast, the story of his life, and additional resources to help you create feast day traditions with your families for years to come!

st basil, January, Feast Day, Recipes, December, 12 Days of Christmas

dormition, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, T, Recipes

Edible Flower Shortbread Cookies for the Dormition of the Theotokos

dormition, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, T, Recipes

The Feast of the Dormition is often associated with the blessing of flowers and herbs. This is because the fragrance of the flowers and herbs reminds us of the scent of holiness, which filled the empty tomb of the Theotokos. In many places it is still the custom to bring herbs and flowers on this feast day to be blessed. As a beautiful tribute to the Theotokos, and the Feast of Dormition, I’m sharing this recipe for making edible flower shortbread cookies!

dormition, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, T, Recipes

pentecost, June, Feast Day, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

10 Ideas to Celebrate Pentecost with Your Family

pentecost, June, Feast Day, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

Here you’ll find 10 easy ideas to celebrate Ascension as a family. As a busy mom with 3 little ones, I know how precious your time is, so I hope to simplify how you celebrate feasts together. In this list you’ll find ways to prepare your kids for Pentecost (i.e. kneeling prayers, song, etc) and you will find fun recipes and stories too.

pentecost, June, Feast Day, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

Recipes, Feast Day Food Traditions, Ascension, May

Cloud JELL-O Parfaits for the Feast of Ascension!

Recipes, Feast Day Food Traditions, Ascension, May

Who doesn’t like a fun symbolic recipe to help us remember a Special Feast Day? This Cloud Jello Parfait recipes is SUPER easy and fun, and will help children remember the details of Christ’s ascension into heaven!

Recipes, Feast Day Food Traditions, Ascension, May

Feast Day Food Traditions, Sunday of the Blind Man, May, Recipes

Mud Brownies for the Sunday of the Blind Man

Feast Day Food Traditions, Sunday of the Blind Man, May, Recipes

Here’s a simple and fun activity for you to do this weekend as a family as you live Liturgically. Make “mud” brownies! I am always a fan of incorporating food into any feast day, especially for children! In addition to it being obviously yummy, it’s also a great sensory experience to help kids connect the healing element (mud) that Jesus used to heal the blind man!

Feast Day Food Traditions, Sunday of the Blind Man, May, Recipes

Ascension, Feast Day, May, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

10 Easy Ideas to Celebrate Ascension with Kids

Ascension, Feast Day, May, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

Here you’ll find 10 fun ways to celebrate Ascension as a family in hopes that one of these ideas will spark some ideas for you as you live out the Liturgical Calendar. Perhaps they will become your annual tradition for each Ascension! These are not just activities for activities sake, of course. My hope is that these will aid you in sharing more about our faith with your children in a way that is developmentally appropriate, allows for their exploration and participation in the feast, and hopefully cultivate a rich soil in their hearts that allows the seed of Truth that stays with them all the days of their life.

Ascension, Feast Day, May, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

st basil, january, Vasilopita, Feast Day Food Traditions, B, Feast Day, Recipes

St Basil Feast Day Guide

st basil, january, Vasilopita, Feast Day Food Traditions, B, Feast Day, Recipes

August, St Phanourios, Feast Day Food Traditions, P, Feast Day, Recipes

Phanouropita Mini Bundt Cake (St Phanourios Cake)

August, St Phanourios, Feast Day Food Traditions, P, Feast Day, Recipes

dormition, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, T, Recipes

Edible Flower Shortbread Cookies for the Dormition of the Theotokos

dormition, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, T, Recipes

St Herman, saints of north america, November, December, Feast Day Food Traditions, H, Recipes

St Herman Spruce Island Cookies

St Herman, saints of north america, November, December, Feast Day Food Traditions, H, Recipes

St John the Baptist, january, June, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, J, Recipes

St John the Baptist Locust and Honey Crescent Rolls

St John the Baptist, january, June, August, Feast Day Food Traditions, J, Recipes

pentecost, June, Feast Day, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

10 Ways to Celebrate Pentecost with Your Kids

pentecost, June, Feast Day, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes

pascha basket, traditional pascha basket, Holy Week, April, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes, Lent, Pascha

How to Put Together a Traditional Pascha Basket

pascha basket, traditional pascha basket, Holy Week, April, Feast Day Food Traditions, Recipes, Lent, Pascha

st basil, January, Feast Day, Recipes

St Basil Day Guide

st basil, January, Feast Day, Recipes

Fasting Recipes:

More coming soon!

Featured

Dormition, Fasting, August

Dormition Fast Resource Guide

Dormition, Fasting, August

The Dormition Fast is the final fasting season in the Liturgical year. It is one of the four canonical fasting periods of the Orthodox Church year. The duration of the Dormition Fast is always August 1-14th, concluding on the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15th). As we recognize this significant shift in our liturgical calendar, I wanted to provide resources and ideas in this guide to help guide you and your families. May this be a fruitful season for us all!

Dormition, Fasting, August

June, Apostles Fast, Fasting

Apostles' Fast Resources

June, Apostles Fast, Fasting

Do you struggle with what fast-friendly meals to make for breakfast, lunch and snacks? I created a cheat sheet and meal planner to help lighten the mental load of thinking of easy and diverse fasting options. This freebie is a companion to the Apostles’ Fast Plan (available in the shop) but can also be used on its own. My hope is to lighten the load this Apostles’ fast, so you can spend less time thinking about what you are going to cook, and spend more time in prayer and participating in the divine services and fasting.

June, Apostles Fast, Fasting