strict fast

For eight days there was a strict fast; the butchers shut their shops.'

On the day appointed, all the people in the Badaga village, where this ceremony is to take place, observe a strict fast.

When an Indian loses one of his children, he must keep a strict fast for three days, abstaining from food of any kind.

Before setting out for war, they observe a strict fast, or rather they abstain from all food for four days.

Easter is celebrated by them as a holy feast, with the utmost pomp, beginning with a strict fast.