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 is born to raise up again what fell in former times, His image.
Kontakion — Tone 3
Today the Virgin comes to the cave / to give birth ineffably to the pre-eternal Word. / Hearing this, rejoice, O inhabited earth! / With the angels and the shepherds glorify / the pre-eternal God, Whose will it was to appear as a young child!