How and why celebrate the Baptism of the Lord?

On this day in churches an unusually large number of people. There are even those who did not remember God throughout the year. And all because the Baptism of the Lord is the water consecration. Everyone wants to have at least some holy water, about the wonderful properties of which so much is said. They even say that it is worth it to drink medicine so that they act better. But what is really so remarkable about this day?

The baptism of the Lord is the third most important holiday for Orthodox Christians. It is more important than Easter and Christmas. The festival is called the Epiphany, because during the rite of baptism, which John the Baptist conducted over the Lord Jesus Christ , a dove appeared in the air, and from the sky came the voice of God: "This is my son, my beloved." It is believed that at that moment the triune essence of God was manifested, in which Jesus is God the Son, the voice from heaven represents the Father God, and the dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

In Russia, the baptism of the Lord was overgrown with many traditions. So, on this day it is common to dive into an ice-hole with freshly consecrated water. At this time, the cold is the strongest during the winter, but this does not stop the believers. Holy water not only will not catch a cold, but it also protects against diseases for a whole year.

As already mentioned, Holy Water is being baptized in a special pond near the church. Where there are no rivers and one can not cut a cross-cut ice-hole, the water service is conducted in special reservoirs. But many argue that the healing water on this day can be recruited literally at home from under the tap. For one day the water becomes holy in all water bodies, it is enough to just collect it and save it. If you dial it not in the temple, but at home, then you need to do it on the night before Baptism.

The Epiphany is celebrated on January 19 (January 6, according to the old style). The period from Christmas to Epiphany is called the Holy Week. At this time, according to the belief, evil spirits are released from Hell. At the Holy Week, to make guesses and arrange masquerades - to get acquainted. It used to be that in the form of mummers, devils can sometimes come, and vice versa, the evil-doer mistakes for his own and does not hurt. It should be noted that the church condemned many folk entertainment that takes place on the Holy Week. Most likely, they came from the depths of centuries.

Baptism is marked by a special service in the church and the procession of the cross. The evening of January 18 begins Epiphany Eve, when it is accepted to fast. After the divine service, which ends on the morning of January 19, it is already possible to send congratulations to each other on the Baptism of the Lord. Now the verse greetings are popular, which you can write on a postcard or send by SMS.

Congratulations on the Baptism of the Lord:

We send poems to every house with poems.

With holy water today

We will bring health and luck.

The party is all adversity,

We argue in our hands,

To the frosty Epiphany weather

Faith became stronger in the heart!

And according to the people's calendar, Baptism is the beginning of the agricultural year. On this day, according to the weather, the year will be fruitful. Clear starry night foreshadowed a good harvest of berries and nuts, high snow drifts and generally bad weather during the day meant that there would be a high yield of cereals. But a clear and warm baptismal day on the signs meant that the harvest would be bad.