(19 Jan 2021) Orthodox Christians in Ukraine celebrated the festival of Epiphany by taking a dip in ice-cold waters and carolling across the country.
Ukraine's Hutsuls marked the date with traditional carols, prayers and dipping in icy waters in Verkhovyna where the air temperature was -13 degrees Celsius (8.6 Fahrenheit).
Celebrations kicked off early on Tuesday with traditional carol singing outside the local church, followed by a procession towards the Chorny Cheremosh river, where a mass took place.
The river was then baptized by the priest, and the bravest locals took a dip in its ice-cold waters.
Hutsuls are an ethnic group living in the Carpathian Mountains region in Western Ukraine.
Epiphany is traditionally marked by orthodox believers on January 19. For Hutsuls this is also the day ending two weeks of Christmas carolling, which started on January 7.
In Kyiv, braving the chilly temperatures, a group of winter swimmers plunged into the Dnipro River.
Swimmers said taking a dip had kept them in good health.
"The first time I took a dip I was in my 60 years," said pensioner Yuri Didenko. "Now I'm 74, and I forgot what is being sick or having the flu."
Dipping in outdoor waters is a popular Epiphany ritual in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and a few other countries.
It grew particularly common after the collapse of the Soviet Union and is followed by both religious and non-religious people, who believe icy waters would wash away their sins and bring them good health for the whole year ahead.
The celebration is carried out across the country, and is traditionally done in rivers, ponds or lakes to mark the Orthodox holy day, when the first Russian Christians were baptised in 988 AD (Anno Domini).
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