Tofu turkey? You mean they don't lift the fast for the holiday?
Who's the "they?" The Nativity Fast is far older than the American (and Canadian) Thanksgiving civil holidays, but there is an obvious Eucharistic element to Thanksgiving, something we should be doing every day, i.e., "giving thanks."
In families and households where both EO's and non-EO Christians reside, "ekonomia" is exercised and the EO's reluctantly
break the Nativity Fast to consume the traditional turkey with the others. In other cases, some less-than-traditional Orthodox hierarchs "dispense" their spiritual children from the Nativity Fast on the Thanksgiving holiday, which has its religious overtones. Some Orthodox, truth be told, however, are only too happy to dispense themselves from the fast altogether not only on Thanksgiving but at other times too and have dinner dances and parties, pre-Christmas luncheons with meat, etc., even at their church sites. And their clergy turn a blind eye to the non-fasting practices of their charges. More traditional Orthodox keep the Nativity Fast, but have a special meal with fish and shellfish, and yes, tofu shaped and flavoured like a turkey!
Hypo-Ortho
