Orthodox Meatfare Sunday 2023: Date, History, Easter facts

Traditional Meat Dishes Orthodox Christians observe Sunday on the third Sunday as defined by the Lenten Triodion. This year’s date is February 19th. It can only mean one thing for millions of Orthodox Christians around the world: today is the last day they may consume meat before Pascha, or Easter. Following this Sunday will be several weeks of prayer, community, and seeking forgiveness. Orthodox Christians believe that prayer, selflessness, and service to others bring one closer to God. We are especially drawn to one of the day’s central principles: a peaceful, blank slate. Perhaps today is the day we achieve it.

HISTORY OF ORTHODOX MEATFARE SUNDAY

Traditional Meat Dishes Sunday is a part of the Lenten Season observed by millions of Orthodox Christians, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christians. The season marks the start of the Great Fast before Easter (‘Pascha’). In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the Paschal Cycle helps everyone stay on the path of fasting, penance, prayer, and charity work. One could refer to the cycle as an Easter-centered calendar. It comprises various phases: pre-Lent, Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pentecostarion periods. As each phase passes, Christians grow closer to spirituality and God.

During this time, the faithful observe a series of customary rituals. The “cycle of the movable feasts” is fundamental to this custom. Sundays typically mark the next phase of the Paschal Cycle with a special commemoration centred on the assigned Gospel Reading. Traditional Meat Dishes Sunday occurs in the three weeks preceding Great Lent. This Sunday marks the traditional end of meat consumption before Easter.

On this day, also known as the Sunday of the Last Judgment, the Greek Orthodox Church emphasises the Gospel of Matthew. Even though it sounds ominous, the message of the parable of the Last Judgment is quite different. It emphasises that Jesus Christ will judge people based on their love, specifically on how much they care for others and how much they share God’s love. The spirit on this Sunday is one of repentance and making amends, not hellfire or brimstone. A week later, on Cheesefare Sunday, Orthodox Christians abstain from dairy until Pascha. And following this Sunday, Great Lent commences in earnest.

Five Easter facts that will blow your mind

• Easter is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of light and fertility, Eostre.
• It is a Ukrainian custom to invoke the goddesses and gods of health and fertility.
• Due to the resemblance of pretzels to crossed arms in prayer, they were a popular dinner choice in Germany during the 1950s.
• Germany permits music, but public dancing is punishable by a fine.
• In 2007, a Fabergé Easter egg was sold at Christie’s in London for nearly $18 million.

ORTHODOX MEATFARE SUNDAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2022	February 27	Sunday
2023	February 19	Sunday
2024	March 10	Sunday
2025	February 23	Sunday
2026	February 15	Sunday