ONTD_P's Photo of the Day: March 12, 2011.
Epiphany 2011 | Scantily clad Orthodox Christians braved freezing temperatures [in late-January, 2011] to immerse themselves in ice holes in rivers and lakes to celebrate the Epiphany, the day when Orthodox believers commemorate the baptism of Christ according to the Julian calendar.
A man enters the water of Komsomolskoe lake through a cutout made in the ice, in downtown Minsk during the Orthodox Epiphany holiday service late on January 18, 2011. People take part in a baptism ceremony during the traditional celebration of Epiphany, one the biggest events in the Christian Orthodox calender.
AFP/ Getty Images | Viktor Drachev
A Russian Orthodox believer plunges into icy waters in celebration of the Epiphany holiday in Kolpino, close to St. Petersburg, on January 19, 2011.
AFP/ Getty Images | Kirill Kudryavtsev
A Belarussian soldier plunges into icy waters on January 19, 2011 as part of Epiphany holiday celebrations outside the town of Ivatsevichi, some 240 kms from Minsk.
AFP/ Getty Images | Viktor Drachev
An Orthodox priest pours water over a woman standing in the Kara-Balta Rver during in celebration of the Epiphany holiday near the ethnic Russian village of Sosnovka, some 90 km outside the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, on January 19, 2011.
AFP/ Getty Images | Vyacheslav Oseledko
An Orthodox believer runs out of the icy waters of the river Kara-Balta in the village of Sosnovka in celebration of the Epiphany holiday on January 19, 2011.
AFP/ Getty Images | Vyacheslav Oseledko
Miroslav Vukcevic retrieving the cross from the water of the river Ribnica,, in Podgorica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011.
AP | Risto Bozovic
Christian Orthodox believers dive into the river Danube, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, as they race to retrieve a cross from the water. The retrieval of the cross which is cast into the water, is an annual event that marks the Orthodox Epiphany commemorating Christ's baptism.
AP | Marko Drobnjakovic
Swimmers who participated in a traditional cross retrieval race lift up the cross as they react on the banks of the Danube river in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011.
AP | Marko Drobnjakovic
Serbian swimmers dive in the cold waters of the Sava lake as they compete to reach a cross in Belgrade as part of the Epiphany day celebration on January 19, 2011. According to a popular belief, the one who retrieves the cross will have a year of good luck.
AFP/ Getty Images | Alexa Stankovic
Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate Patriarch Filaret (C) blesses the Dnieper river on January 19, 2011during Epiphany celebrations.
AFP/ Getty Images | Sergei Supinsky
A Ukrainian man bathes in the Dnieper river in Kiev on January 19, 2011 during Epiphany celebrations. Thousands of Orthodox believers took part in a baptism ceremony to mark Epiphany.
AFP/ Getty Images | Sergei Supinsky
An Ukrainian woman reacts as she bathes in the Dnieper river in Kiev on January 19, 2011, during the Epiphany celebrations.
AFP/ Getty Images | Sergei Supinsky
PotD Mood Tune:
Sting - "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You"
Source Gallery:
- "Epiphany 2011" | The Frame | SacBee.com