Braving the winter temperatures: In Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, on Epiphany, Orthodox Christians jump into icy waters to wash away their sins.
Moscow – Millions of people in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine started the traditional ice bath by jumping into the ice-cold water. The occasion is Epiphany, celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church on Wednesday, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus.
The believers want to cleanse themselves of their sins by taking ice baths. Russia’s head of state Vladimir Putin refrained from swimming in sub-zero temperatures this year.
According to the Interfax agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov referred to the corona pandemic as justification. Church representatives in Russia had warned against infection when bathing in view of the rapidly increasing number of new infections. A year ago, Putin was briefly submerged in the icy cold water.
Nothing for wimps
With temperatures down to minus ten degrees, there were more than 30 bathing spots in Europe’s largest metropolis Moscow alone. On a lake in the west of the capital, queues even formed in front of a hole in the ice in the morning when the sun was shining. Some jumped screaming into the icy water, dove under water three times, crossed themselves and prayed for themselves and their loved ones.
Security forces and paramedics were on hand because there are sometimes fatalities during this winter fun. In the Goworowo district, heated tents for men and women to change into were already set up. The path to the frozen lake was covered with hay.
Nationwide, around two million people take an ice bath every year, the state agency Ria Novosti reported. This winter fun is also widespread in the neighboring countries of Belarus and Ukraine. dpa
