Each church holiday has its own authentic rites and special traditions. January 19 is no exception - an important event in the Orthodox world, when believers early in the morning go to church with decanters filled with water, decorated with green twigs and elegant ribbons. How to celebrate the baptism of the Lord? What to do on this day? Let's just try to reveal all the secrets of the holiday.
A bit of history
Epiphany is often called people the feast of the Epiphany. As the Christians celebrate the solemn event, every Orthodox person who regularly visits the church knows. On this day, the Church glorifies Jesus Christ, who passed the rite of sanctification with water and accepted the faith. Baptism is one of the most ancient holidays: written references to it date back to the II century. Previously, it was celebrated with Christmas - December 25th. Today, only in some countries is this combination of dates. For example, Indians and Armenians continue to celebrate Epiphany on January 6th.
The Bible says that
John the Baptist performed the rite of baptism over Jesus
. During the sacrament, the Holy Spirit descended on the Savior in the form of a dove, it was at that moment that a heavenly voice proclaimed that this person is the Son of the Lord, beloved and only, who brings His grace to the world. Therefore, if you do not know how to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, turn to the gospel. It says in detail that the holiday is closely connected with water, so its consecration and bathing in the ice-hole are the main traditions of the solemn event.
Christmas Eve
That is the name of the evening on the eve of a significant day when they celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. How to celebrate this event, which is also important for Christians? Firstly, Christmas Eve traditions are very similar to Christmas: mummers walk on the streets and carol. People fast all day, and only in the evening the family gathers at the table on which the lean dishes are presented. The main thing is kutia, traditionally made from rice or wheat, honey, raisins, poppy seeds and nuts. Girls are guessing at the narrowed one, young people arrange the so-called Kolyada wires.
Secondly, it is believed that on the night before Baptism on the street you can meet evil spirits. She is trying to enter the home in any guise. To prevent this, the Orthodox draw crosses on the
window frames and doors with chalk. The sign has long been considered reliable protection from everything beyond. Our ancestors said that the Fiery Serpent werewolf was especially dangerous: usually he is an unmarried girl in the form of a handsome guy. He enchants his victim, and this love is considered incurable.
Epiphany water
She is a symbol of the holiday. From the very early morning of January 19, people rush to the temple to consecrate this source of life. Pour it into specially prepared jugs that are decorated with bows and flowers. Some people use Christmas tree rain for this purpose, shot from a New Year’s beauty. The Epiphany is the last day when she pleases the household with her beauty. Immediately after Baptism, it is customary to burn a tree, and hide toys on the mezzanine until next winter.
If there is an opportunity to sanctify water on the river, then people try not to miss it. The father sends the service just near the hole, after which people draw liquid from it. They bring her into the house, and a real celebration begins. Nobody goes to work, since labor on this day is considered a great sin. After the blessing of the water, the Orthodox celebrate the Epiphany at the table, in the center of which on the most honorable place is blessed water. Every family member and guest takes a sip of it. The mistress of the house treats those present with a delicious meal: porridge, seasoned with butter, jellied meat, rich borsch and square pancakes - so that the money goes around.
How to collect water correctly
The water is blessed on January 18 on Christmas Eve, as well as on the 19th day after the Divine Liturgy. A real holiday for all believers is the service for the Epiphany in Russia. Traditions, as the event is noted, what needs to be done on this day, the priest tells at the sermon. He focuses the attention of people on the fact that the water collected on these two days has special properties, and there is no difference if you collected it on January 18 or 19.
By the way, if there is no way to draw the blessed liquid from the river or bring it from the church, you can use an ordinary water tap or a well. You need to dial it on the night of the Epiphany in the interval between 00:10 to 01:30. Remember: it must be stocked up before celebrating. The Epiphany is a church holiday, therefore sincere prayer is a necessary part of the ceremony. When pouring water into a jar or jug, read the holy words from the Bible. Before the procedure itself, one should also pray, asking the Lord for forgiveness for sins and thanks for his mercy.
Healing properties
Epiphany water has a special power. Firstly, it does not deteriorate. Try pouring plain water and holding it for a month in a plugged vessel: after taking a sip, after a while you will feel bitterness or a hint of mold in the liquid. But the water collected on the eve of January 19 will be fresh even after years. Secondly, it protects from evil spirits. Having brought it from the church, people first of all sprinkled the walls and corners of the house with liquid to protect it from demons and demons.
Thirdly, water has healing properties. Reading the old archival data on how the Epiphany was celebrated in Russia, one can find evidence of the use of liquids in hospitals. Patients were given three sips to drink to rid them of the hated ailment. Also, over the course of the year, water was consumed by those who fell victim to any ailment: not only physical, but also spiritual. The liquid relieved people of spoilage and evil eye, calmed with neurosis and insomnia, removed from a state of apathy and depression.
Bathing
Diving into the hole is another popular tradition that has come to us from the depths of centuries. In Russia, about three thousand so-called Jordanians are preparing for the holiday, believers begin to dive into it on Christmas Eve. During the procedure, all participants are smiling, dipping three times. After basking in the bath or using hot tea, which they carefully bring with them in thermoses. Often ice holes are made in the shape of a cross, which gives the procedure a great atmosphere of a Christian holiday.
Severe frosts usually strike at the Epiphany. How to celebrate a significant event in order to visit the wormwood, and at the same time not to catch a cold? Experts recommend that you first consult with your doctor. For example, people with arrhythmias, kidney disease, and diabetes cannot jump into ice water. If you are completely healthy and there are no special contraindications, it is still necessary to prepare the body for possible stress: a month before bathing, begin to temper, enrich the diet with foods rich in vitamins and minerals. And also read the instructions on how to properly enter the ice water and what to do after swimming in the wormwood.
Traditions
There are a lot of them. Upon learning how to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany in Russia, foreigners usually shrug their hands: the event is so rich in various rituals and original rites. One of them is releasing pigeons in the wild. Opening the cages in which the birds were specially prepared for the holiday, people say thanks to the Lord for his mercy and protection. Also, birds are a symbol of God's grace that has descended on the savior of mankind - Jesus - on the day of his baptism in Jordan.
On the morning of January 19, as soon as the first bell rings in the church, the Orthodox make a bonfire on the shore of the nearest pond so that Christ can bask in the fire after bathing. Girls at dawn also run to a river or lake to wash themselves with ice water. It is believed that she gives youth and beauty. After Baptism, it is also forbidden to wash in bodies of water. It is believed that by immersing the cross in the water, the priest expels demons from the water, who then sit on the shore waiting for a person with dirty linen. As soon as he is immersed in water, the devils return. Therefore, they said: the later the women begin to wash, the more evil spirits will die from the Epiphany frosts.
Fortunetelling
Very popular entertainment, without which it is difficult to imagine the Epiphany. According to archival sources, the rite is far from religious, but pagan. Despite this, girls prefer such a pastime, using any objects for this: wax, coffee grounds, mirrors or snow. For example, a very famous holy divination on a shoe, our great-grandmothers used it in time immemorial. They went out into the courtyard and, turning to face the threshold, threw a boot over their left shoulder: in which direction the sock was pointing, the matchmakers would come from there.
Instead, they tried to find out the future with paper and candles. The leaf was tightly squeezed in hands, laid on a saucer and set on fire. When the paper burned out, by its shadow located on the wall, they tried to find out what surprises fate had in the coming year.
In a word, there are a lot of such fortunetelling. Of course, it is not necessary to believe in the authenticity of the rites, but it's worth a try: it is fun and entertaining. In the Russian outback, they still do not understand how to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord without mysterious rituals and fortune-telling. After all, they are an important part of the holiday.
Omens
Being observant, our ancestors also developed a whole system of predictions for ordinary weather. They argued that summer would be dry if it was cold and clear at Epiphany, and rich in crops when the sky was overcast. A full month foreshadowed a great spring flood, and a starry night - a good harvest of berries and peas. The south wind spoke of thunderstorm summer, and snow spoke of a prosperous year, especially if it began during the Divine Liturgy. The barking of dogs signaled to hunters about the successful season that awaits them in the near future.
Let's conclude. How do Orthodox celebrate the feast of the Epiphany? Fun and relaxed. They use not only Christian traditions, but also pagan rites, which makes it even more colorful and unusual. The Epiphany is the last important event ending the day of a whole cycle of winter Christmas time. After it there was a temporary lull, people were preparing for Lent and waiting for the next significant date - Easter, with which many signs are also associated. But this is a completely different story ...