SOFIA, Bulgaria — 1000’s of Orthodox Christian worshippers in Bulgaria on Monday braved the freezing winter climate to plunge into icy waters as they noticed centuries-old Epiphany traditions.
Younger males plunged into rivers and lakes throughout the Balkan nation, which is primarily Orthodox, to retrieve crucifixes tossed by monks in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.
It’s believed that the one that retrieves the wood cross can be free of evil spirits and can be wholesome all year long. After the cross is fished out, the priest sprinkles believers with water utilizing a bunch of basil.
Within the tiny metropolis of Elin Pelin, located in a rural space east of the capital, Sofia, dozens of males jumped into the wintry waters of the Lesnovska River to catch the blessed cross.
The height of the celebrations was the sluggish “mazhko horo”, or males’s dance, carried out by males wearing conventional white embroidered shirts who waded into the river singing folks songs and waving nationwide flags.
The celebration of Epiphany, or the Apparition of Christ, as Bulgarians name it, started on Monday in Sofia with a water blessing ceremony.
Senior clergymen of Bulgaria’s Orthodox church stated prayers for the prosperity of the folks and blessed the colours of consultant military items in a convention that was deserted in 1946 however re-established following the autumn of communism in 1992.
Epiphany marks the tip of the 12 days of Christmas, however not all Orthodox Christian church buildings have fun it on the identical day.
Whereas the church buildings in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania have fun the feast on Jan. 6, Orthodox Church buildings in Russia, Ukraine and Serbia comply with the Julian calendar, in accordance with which Epiphany is widely known on Jan. 19, as their Christmas falls on Jan. 7.
