Christians of the Eastern Rite celebrate the Feast of Epiphany on January 19. On this day, Svyatki (the cycle of the winter Christmas and New Year holidays) ended. It is also believed that Epiphany frosts begin from this day. The day before, on Epiphany Christmas Eve, which was also called Hungry Kutia or Hungry Evening, rituals were performed associated with the blessing of water. During this period, fun and a plentiful feast stopped, and the hostesses prepared for the fast, cooked unleavened juice (kutya) without butter and cheese. On Epiphany, ponds were consecrated, they swam in the hole and began to prepare for the winter wedding season.
The Feast of Epiphany brought together many pagan and Christian rites, the main of which, of course, were rites with water. The main baptismal rite is water blessing, or water baptism. Most of the baptismal rites had a cleansing character, and were prepared the day before: they washed the house and carefully swept the garbage. In total, two rites of consecration of water are performed: on the eve of Epiphany, on Epiphany evening - inside the church, and on the day of Epiphany - on the nearest lake or river.
They went to church on the evening of January 18, and at the end of the church service, a great blessing of water took place: the blessing of water. After the service, the whole family drank holy water, sprinkled it on cattle and the house. And although all the water on this day is considered holy, it was the “evening water” that was considered the strongest. Therefore, many people plunged into the hole in the evening on the eve of Epiphany - when the first star would rise. On the eve of Epiphany, a strict fast was observed. At dinner on the evening of the Cross, they ate kutya, oatmeal jelly and pancakes. It was possible to sit down for dinner only after everyone had drunk a spoonful of holy water. After dinner, everyone put spoons in one bowl, and on top - bread: so that the bread would give birth. After dinner, the owner of the house “called for frost”: he went outside with a kutya and said: “Frost, frost, come to us for dinner, but do not freeze our horses, bulls, chickens, pigs, rye and wheat!”
After dinner, the children “chased away the kutia”: they ran out into the yard and beat with sticks on the corner of the house, ordering:
Run, kutya, from the corner,
and uzvar - go to the market,
Palyanitsy, stay on the shelf,
and didukh - for a warm spirit,
To leave the casing!
When it got dark outside, the didukh was taken out of the house, set on fire, "burning" the winter and calling for spring. The ashes were carried to the garden - so that the cucumbers would give birth well. It is also known that snow was collected at Epiphany, and the resulting water was poured into a jug and saved in case of illness. It is believed that this water heals cramps, dizziness, and numbness in the legs. Epiphany snow was added to the horses' food so that they would not get sick, and they were given to chickens so that they would start laying earlier. As on Epiphany Christmas Eve, and on the day of Epiphany on January 19, after the rite of blessing the water, a rite of purification of the dwelling was carried out in order to expel evil spirits from everywhere with consecrated water.
The night of Epiphany is the last night for Christmas fortune-telling, since after the end of Christmas time, fortune-telling is no longer allowed. The girls of fortune-telling are the future, for marriage, for the betrothed. Also, on this day they were guessing at the harvest. On the Epiphany evening, they are generous for the last time: the guys are generous only under the windows of those girls who are in sight. Also, this is the last day of carols, to which "Melanka" is driven mainly by girls.
From January 19 and throughout the week it was forbidden to rinse clothes on the river. The candle, which was brought along with holy water from the service on Epiphany Christmas Eve, was kept: it was believed that this candle protects from evil spirits. The people believed that a child baptized on January 19 would become a very happy person.
One of the most important traditions of this day is bathing at Epiphany in the hole, or "walking on the Jordan". Our ancestors believed that the water on Epiphany night is gaining healing power, and the sick will be able to recover from the water while bathing. An ice-hole was made at the nearest reservoir at a designated place - Jordan. Believers participated in the solemn procession of the cross and received holy water, and after the prayer they bathed in the hole to cleanse themselves of sins and recover from illnesses. Those who "dressed up" during the Holidays swam in the hole in order to wash off the "demonic disguise" from themselves.
After dinner, the hosts laid out unthreshed sheaves of different cultures in the yard, broken into pieces of bread and rye cakes left for Epiphany since the New Year and the Nativity of Christ. Cattle were released from the stables for food and, while they were eating, they were sprinkled with water brought from the hole: so that the cattle would be full all year🥶🥶🥶.