The Epiphany Day is one of the most significant church holidays, which is celebrated on January 19 according to the new calendar. Especially important celebration for Baptism is considered the blessing of water performed on the eve of the holiday. Once in the Russian villages on this day, fasting was observed , and during the evening, the village churches were filled with so many worshipers that the small church building could not accommodate everyone, and during the rite of blessing of water, everyone tried to draw holy water as early as possible, as it was believed that then it is holier. During the illumination of the water, women were placed in the church bowl, where the sacrament was performed, candles interlaced with ribbons, so often the eve of the Epiphany was also called “candles”.
The main rites and signs for Baptism are associated with holy water. After returning from the blessing of water, each family member drank a sip of holy water, and then sprinkled it with the whole house, sheds and outbuildings, as well as all the property. The signs associated with Baptism primarily concerned the life-giving power of water, which bestowed health and protected the house and property from evil eyes and troubles. After the rite, water was put into images, since signs for Baptism are associated not only with the healing power of water, but also with the belief that the illuminated water does not deteriorate, and if it is frozen, a clear image of the cross will appear on ice. It is also believed that the same sacred property has simple river and lake water, which on the eve of Baptism is saturated with special strength.
What are these signs of baptism connected with? According to legend, Jesus Christ himself descends into the river on a festive night, so the water “sways” in all water bodies, and to see this, you need to come to the river at night and wait near the ice hole when the wave passes, a sign that Jesus has plunged into the water. Other signs for Baptism are associated with river and lake water blessings. It was believed that washing clothes in the river before the expiration of the week after the Epiphany is impossible, since all the unclean power living in the water after consecration runs out of it in fear, and clinging to the laundry, jumps out of the water. Water, in the hole in Epiphany days was considered healing. Only, carrying her home, it was important not to turn back and say prayers all the way.
At Baptism, folk signs and rituals were the most diverse, but somehow they are all connected with water and its holy power. One of the most beautiful and unusual rites associated with the device on the Jordan River - the holy font. An ice hole in the form of a cross, as well as a semicircular indentation, which was called a radiance, was cut down in ice with extraordinary diligence, and a gutter for water flow was made around. All this was called a "cup." During the service, the bottom of the “cup” sharply broke through, and a fountain of water, escaping from the river, quickly filled a depression-radiance, after which a cross made in ice seemed to float above the water and glistened with silver on the surface of the ice. After this magnificent sight, the rite of washing with holy water began. Moreover, there was no such general bathing in the hole, as in our days, in old Russia. As a rule, they drank water and washed it, however, and then there were daredevils who plunged into the ice hole, especially since folk signs for Baptism related to water claimed that it was impossible to catch a cold while swimming on that day.
There are rites and signs for Baptism, which seem to be intertwined with pagan beliefs. One of these ceremonies is the sprinkling of domestic animals with holy water. All domestic cattle is taken to the courtyard, attracted by a delicious delicacy specially prepared for this day, and going around three circles around it, sprinkled with holy water. All family members participate in this rite. Many signs associated with the weather on this day also have a connection with pre-Christian beliefs. Fortune telling was very common at Epiphany evenings. The girls wondered at the narrowed one. However, those who divined all the holy days, had to swim in the ice hole, as fortunetelling attracted unclean forces, which these days especially walked around.