Hello to everyone! The holiday of Epiphany was celebrated in Ukraine on this weekend. The Catholics celebrate this Christian holiday on January 6th, the Orthodox Christians do the same on January 19th because of the difference between the calendars. Epiphany (or Theophany) is considered to be one of the all-honored Christian holidays in the world, and Ukraine is not an exception. Actually, the very Epiphany closes the Ukrainian Christmas season at all.
As we know, on this day the baptism of Jesus Christ was held. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in a shape of dove. The christening occurred by the John the Baptist in the Jordan River, so this fact gave the folk name to the holiday of Epiphany. In Ukraine Epiphany is considered to be a very honorable holiday. The Ukrainians believe the winter wedding season starts on Epiphany and tills until the Lent. So this winter time is mostly for visiting and entertaining.
The main sense of Epiphany in Ukraine is the water consecration. It occurs in the local churches. But another ritual usually takes place near small lakes, on the river banks and basins. In fact, the Ukrainians and Russians believe water this day becomes holy and acquires the special power. Before the ritual, people make large holes in the shape of cross in the ice (the usual temperature is about 20 Fahrenheit) in order to bathe in this icy water. Then the Christian priests read the prayers and put their crosses into the cold water. After the consecration, this water is believed to be holy and to give health with vigorous energy, this Epiphany water also believed to be a powerful medicine and cure for every ailment. People usually take this sanctified water home in bottles and keep over the year. It is considered mysteries with no logical explanation, but sanctified water on Epiphany can be kept for a long time and doesn’t get spoiled at all.
According to this custom, there is another Epiphany tradition here – the tradition of ice-hole dipping. The Orthodox priests bless the icy water, and believers dip themselves under the water for three times. This may symbolize to wipe out people’s sins, in order to purify themselves, and a symbolic person’s rebirth. The power of spirit does wonders – as a matter of fact, people have never fallen ill after such holy bathing.