In the morning, clergymen from the Holy Trinity Church arrived in the city to conduct the water blessing ceremony, after which local residents began to fill containers, wishing well-being for their families.
Sergey Ustimov noted: “In honor of the Epiphany holiday, people gather at night and early in the morning to collect water and perform the bathing ritual. We believe in its healing properties. It can be stored for a whole year without spoiling. In my youth, I always dipped into cold water, but now my health does not allow it. I congratulate everyone on the holiday.”
This practice has been preserved for many years and holds significant spiritual meaning for Christians.
“This water is sacred to us, and we use it similarly to how Muslims use holy water from Mecca. We treat it especially carefully when it comes to children. When they are sick or cannot sleep, we wash them with this water and give them a little to drink — it helps them,” added Vladimir Andrey, wishing everyone health and longevity on this festive day.
