Forefeast of the Nativity of our Lord - Troparion & Kontakion

Troparion — Tone 4

Prepare, O Bethlehem, for Eden has been opened to all! / Adorn yourself, O Ephratha, for the tree of life blossoms forth from the Virgin in the cave! / Her womb is a spiritual paradise planted with the Divine Fruit: / If we eat of it, we shall live forever and not die like Adam. / Christ comes to restore the image which He made in the beginning!

Kontakion — Tone 2

He who holds the earth in the hollow of His hand / now is beheld in Bethlehem wrapped in swaddling bands. / We offer pre-festal hymns to His Mother, who maternally rejoices / having held to her bosom the Son of God.