A lifestyle involving such fasts may have contributed to the pacifist mindset of the Coptic people for centuries.
[3] Married couples refrain from sexual relations during Lent "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer".
Through fasting, the Oriental Orthodox Christians attempt to recapture Paradise in their lives by refraining from those carnal practices.
In general, Coptic fasting means adhering to a vegan diet, thus abstaining from meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and other animal products.
[1][2] Food made of fava beans, lentils, grape leaves, tomatoes, potatoes etc.
[5] There are those who see fasting as an exercise in self-denial and Christian obedience that serves to rid the believer of his or her passions (what most modern people would call "addictions").
These often low-intensity and hard-to-detect addictions to food, television or other entertainments, sex, or any kind of self-absorbed pleasure-seeking are seen as some of the most significant obstacles for man seeking closeness to God.
The major fasting periods during the ecclesiastical calendar year are: The Nativity Fast (Advent or Winter Lent) is the 40 days preceding the Nativity of Jesus (Christmas) on 29 Koiak (January 7, which also falls on 28 Koiak in leap years).
Since they are not related to each other dogmatically, in early Christianity, the fasts of Great Lent and of Holy Week were separate.
It begins on the Monday following the Sunday of Pentecost and extends to the feast day of Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle on 5 Epip (July 12).
Exceptions are the Wednesdays and Fridays between Resurrection and Pentecost (the 50-day period of joy during which fasting is not permitted) and any day whereon a Major Feast falls.
Those who cannot endure this length of fast are still encouraged to strictly abstain from all types of food and drink between midnight and a certain time in the day, depending on each individual's strength and spiritual needs (this is usually based on the suggestion of the person's father of confession).
[1] Strict fasting with abstinence is canonically forbidden on Saturdays and Sundays due to the festal character of the Sabbath and Resurrectional observances respectively.
These strict fasting rules are usually relaxed by priests on an individual basis to accommodate for illness or weakness.
The Coptic Orthodox fasting periods are designed to foster spiritual development and focus on liturgical practices.
Fasting is not generally viewed as a hardship, but rather a privilege and joy in preparing for the coming "Feast Day".