Every year, the Orthodox Church celebrates the last two weeks before Christmas Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (from December 24 to 30), and then the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (from December 31 to January 6). The celebration falls on Lent and is dedicated to honoring the memory of the forefathers of the Savior who were waiting for the coming. Most of the attention is focused on Daniel and the three boys.

Daniel is a biblical prophet who predicted the birth and death of Christ, as well as the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The boys were friends of the prophet Daniel, who during the Babylonian captivity refused to bow to the king and were thrown to death in a fiery furnace, but Archangel Michael saved the three young men.