The last five days of the forty-day Nativity Fast are called the forefeast, which is a more intensive period of preparation. During these pre-festive days, it would be nice to turn our attention to the many liturgical texts that can help focus our attention on those events, as well as the theological interpretations of those events, that we will soon celebrate. Of course, you can read all the services of this period, but probably many of you do not have the time for this, so I suggest, for those who wish, to read the canons that are appointed to be sung at Compline during these days. They are not particularly long, but very beautiful, and it seems to me that they will greatly help in your preparation for the feast in a spiritual and theological sense. My advice is to read them in the evening, when all the household chores are done, after completing you evening prayer rule, in front of your icons, with a lit candle, and then, before going to bed, to calmly reflect on what was read.

These canons are read from the evening of January 1st.