Thousands of Russians plunged Saturday into frozen rivers and ponds, despite winter temperatures down to -40 ° C in some areas, on the occasion of the Epiphany celebrated at that time by the Russian Orthodox.
2.4 million people participated. Russian police estimated Saturday morning that more than 2.4 million people had participated overnight at celebrations across the country. The number of those who dipped three times in the water according to tradition was not precisely known.
(Credit: AFP)
That day the holy water would have miraculous properties, according to the believers. The authorities had cut up the ice and sometimes installed wooden steps to facilitate access to the faithful eager to immerse themselves in frozen rivers or lakes to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan. Russian orthodox believers believe that holy water has miraculous properties on this day.
"It's the best of Russian traditions" . In a Moscow park, believers in bikinis or swimming trunks crossed themselves in the water, shaking with cold under the eye of the police. "It's great, it's the best of Russian traditions," says a resident of Moscow, Yevgeny Goloshchapov, with a towel on his shoulders. In recent years, politicians and diplomats have also plunged into icy waters, such as President Vladimir Putin last year or US Ambassador to Moscow Jon Huntsman Jr.
In Yakutia, in the Russian Far East, the coldest region of the country, the governor immersed himself in the Lena River by -42 ° C, according to his office.
Nothing canonical. If the tradition of these icy baths arouses excitement, some officials of the Russian Orthodox Church stress that it is not canonical. "External rites on major religious holidays tend to become national traditions and the original meaning of the holiday is forgotten," said Bishop Panteleimon, a prominent bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. "I never dive into a hole in the ice," he told Izvestia daily.
(Credit: AFP)
(Credit: AFP)