Bulgarians Celebrate Epiphany and Saint Jordan’s Day: The Cross in Thrown in the River

On January 6, Bulgarians celebrate Epiphany or St. Jordan's Day (Yordanovden) - one of the biggest Christian holidays in the Bulgarian calendar.

On this day, St. John the Baptist baptized the Son of God in the Jordan River. The Bulgarian believes that, as then, the sky opens and God fulfills wishes. The pagan ancestors also believed in the same way, when on the same day they prayed to Dazhbog (the Slavic god), who fulfills wishes, on the same night.

The Feast of the Epiphany is also called Enlightenment, because the Jordanian event enlightens by showing God manifested in the unfathomable mystery of the consubstantial and indivisible Trinity. Everyone through Holy Baptism is adopted by the Father of Light through the merit of the Son and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The rituals of St. Jordan's Day in traditional folklore are associated with baptism and the consecration of water and the cross, therefore in many places this holiday is called "Voditsi".

On this day, a festive Epiphany liturgy is performed, water is consecrated, and then the priests go to a body of water (sea, river, lake) where they throw the cross, and the one among the men who catches it will be healthy throughout the year.

In Kalofer, on this day, the extremely spectacular men's dance is held in the icy waters of the Tundzha River, as it is believed that anyone who enters the January icy waters will be kept away from diseases throughout the year.

With the baptism of water, the world acquires new value and power, becomes a safer place to live. End the so-called dirty days i.e. evil forces are defeated and banished.

Holy baptism is one of the seven sacraments of faith (the others are anointing, eucharist, penance, priesthood, marriage,...