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EPIPHANY: (Ukrainian: "Bohoiavlennia"). A religious feast on January
6 (os) or January 19 (NS), popularly called "Vodokhryshchi" (Blessing
of Water) or "Yordan" (Jordan River), which completes the winter
(Christmas-New Year) festivities cycle.
Its Christian content is permeated with old agricultural rituals of
diverse origins. The Eve of Epiphany is called 'the second Holy Eve'
or 'Hungry "Kutia"'; in Podilia it is also called "Shchedryi Vechir"
(Generous Eve) but with "kutia" still as the main traditional dish.
The principal ceremony of Epiphany traditionally consisted of the
solemn outdoor blessing of waters, usually at a river or at a well,
where a cross was erected out of blocks of ice (nowadays water is
usually blessed inside the church).
A procession was led to the place of ceremony. After the blessing
of the water, everyone present drank the water and also took some
home to be kept there for a whole year.
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Ukrainian Orthodox priest blesses water on Epiphany in Pirogovo, near the Ukrainian capital Kiev, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004. Thousands of Ukrainian Orthodox believers celebrate annually the Feast of Epiphany, that is the baptism of Jesus and coming of the three wise men to bring gifts to the infant Jesus, on Jan. 19
AP Photo/ Efrem Lukatsky
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One the second day of Epiphany (Day of St. John the Baptist) the
head of the household traditionally fed his cattle with bread, salt,
and hay, which had been in the house since Christmas Eve, 'to
last them till the new bread.'
Following the feast of Epiphany, parish priests visit the parishioners'
homes and bless them with the new holy water.
[Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Volume 1, A-F, edited by Volodymyr
Kubijovyc, Published for the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, the Shevchenko Scientific Society (Sarcelles, France), and the
Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies, University of Toronto
Press, 1984, Page 834.]
Ukrainian Orthodox believers carry icons and gonfalons during a religious ceremony to mark Epiphany in Pirogovo, near the Ukrainian capital Kiev, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko gets out of a lake after bathing to mark Epiphany in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004. Thousands of Ukrainian Orthodox Church followers plunge into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. The temperature in Kiev was about -3 C (27 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday
AP Photo/ Anatoliy Medzyk, Pool
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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