Advent is a season of feasting for most American Christians. It unofficially begins on Thanksgiving with gut-busting portions of turkey and potatoes and carries on all the way through to Christmas with a dietary gauntlet of party trays, cookies and candy canes.

Our family is trying a different approach to Advent this year by following what Orthodox Christians call the Nativity Fast in which participants refrain from dairy, eggs, oil, wine and meat. Fish, wine and oil are allowed on certain designated days. As my 9-year-old daughter explained to her friends over school lunch, “We’re going vegan this Christmas.”

In this season where most of us fret about undisciplined eating and gaining weight, it’s refreshing to discover a community that is eating to the ring of a different dinner bell. What’s even more interesting to me is that not only do Orthodox Christians fast for 40 days leading up to Christmas, they fast for more than half the year.

Read "My Take: Why we're skipping the Christmas roast" on CNN's Belief Blog.

Editor's note: The Rev. Dr. Craig Goodwin is the author of  "Year of Plenty: One Suburban Family, Four Rules, and 365 Days of Homegrown Adventure in Pursuit of Christian Living."  His family is dedicating a year to explore the role of food in Christian spiritual formation by eating their way through different food traditions, one month at a time. He is writing about their experiences at www.tablesofplenty.com.