Every year, an increasing number of Orthodox Christians celebrating the holiday of Baptism dive into the ice hole. But, unfortunately, not everyone thinks about the consequences that such a heroic decision can lead to. Therefore, before committing this act, it is necessary to understand how to plunge into the baptismal font.
A brief excursion into history
Baptism is an old Orthodox holiday, whose roots go back to the distant past. Knowledgeable people said that he is directly related to such an outstanding person as John the Baptist. According to an old legend, one day John met the young Jesus, who consecrated him to the Sacrament of Baptism. According to Christ, it was this preacher who was to carry out the rite of baptism of the Son of God. Realizing that John doubted the words of the Messiah, higher powers sent him a sign in the form of a dove. At the same time, the preacher heard a divine voice from heaven. Convinced of the truthfulness of the words of Christ, John fulfilled his request. It is this date, which falls on January 19 (according to the new style) or January 6 (according to the old), and became a religious holiday.
How is the baptism of the Lord celebrated?
Those who are interested in how to plunge into the font, will not hurt to get acquainted with the traditions associated with this holiday. Orthodox Christians begin to celebrate this great day the day before. On January 18, the Epiphany Eve falls , popularly known as the Hungry Kutia. On this day, it is customary to adhere to the strictest post. In anticipation of the Feast of the Epiphany, our ancestors usually prepared lean kutya. During the evening meal on Epiphany Eve, dishes such as oatmeal jelly, pancakes and kutya should have stood on the table.
The most important event related to the Baptism of the Lord is the rite of blessing of water. To carry it out in the ice, covering the surface of a river or lake, a cruciform wormwood, called Jordan, is cut down in advance. After midnight, ministers consecrate the water, and parishioners plunge into it.
Ancient traditions associated with this holiday
Those who don’t know how to plunge into an ice hole at Epiphany will probably be interested to know, our distant ancestors celebrated this day. On the night before this holiday, church service began, during which priests performed the rite of blessing water. It was believed that after that it gains incredible healing power, therefore, all believers who wanted to get at least a little “magical” liquid, eliminating spiritual and bodily diseases, brought containers with water. She was recruited in the nearest fresh water.
A special hole was made on the surface of the frozen river to conduct the rite of consecration, in shape resembling a cross. As a rule, these actions were led by representatives of the Church. In villages where there was not a single clergyman, the rite was carried out by the headman or the oldest person in the village. After reading all the necessary prayers, the local population armed themselves with various containers and filled them with miraculous baptismal water. Later it was used for drinking, bathing, cooking and even sprinkling the corners of their own homes. Our ancestors believed that this water helps destroy evil spirits.
How safe is swimming in the hole?
Those who want to know how to plunge into the font for Baptism, it will be useful to get acquainted with the opinions of experts. Unfortunately, skeptics and doctors to this day can not reach any consensus on issues related to the safety of swimming in the ice hole. Some of them believe that these actions can be equated with winter swimming, and therefore they do not cause harm to human health. The rest, on the contrary, give a lot of arguments confirming the harm of this occupation.
Exactly the same debate does not subside around the essence of this rite. Even priests cannot come to a consensus on this issue. Someone sees in this rite the echoes of paganism, someone considers such actions to be “youthful” fun, and someone sincerely believes that bathing in icy water can heal from many chronic ailments.
Contraindications for diving into the hole
People who are interested in how to plunge into the font correctly, will not hurt at first to familiarize themselves with the contraindications to this lesson. After all, immersion in ice water becomes a real shock to the human body. It is strictly forbidden to plunge into the hole in people who have problems with the cardiovascular system and nasopharynx. Before plunging correctly into the hole at Baptism, a woman and a man need to remember whether there are any diseases in their history such as laryngitis, sinusitis, otitis media or sinusitis. All of them are considered a serious barrier to immersion in the font.
Do not climb into ice water and those who have recently suffered a heart attack, chemotherapy or surgery. Contraindications to such bathing are pregnancy, hypertension, disorders of the musculoskeletal system, gynecological and venereal diseases.
What to take with you?
Those who still do not know how to plunge into the font should definitely get acquainted with the list of things that you need to bring with you to the place of immersion in water. So, your bag must have a set of dry removable clothes, a bathrobe, towel, swimsuit (swimming trunks) and shoes on a stable non-slip sole. You can take a thermos with hot tea. This drink will help to warm up faster after bathing. To perform the ablution ceremony, it is not enough to know how to plunge into the font. A woman still needs to think about how she will do it. It is not recommended to dress in lace ruffled swimsuits. In this case, decent, closed clothing would be more appropriate.
How to plunge into the font: recommendations
Experienced experts advise you to prepare your body for this activity in advance. It is advisable to start tempering procedures a couple of months before. Otherwise, swimming in the ice hole can result in a serious cold. You need to start by taking a contrast shower with a gradual decrease in water temperature. After a couple of weeks, you can proceed to the dousing, and only then try to immerse yourself in ice water.
Those who do not know how to plunge into the font, you need to remember that this can only be done in specially designated places. To avoid serious troubles, you should not climb into the village pond at midnight drunk. The optimal font depth should be no more than 1.8 meters. To prevent accidental falls, it should have special guards and handrails.
Immediately before diving into the hole, slightly warm up. To do this, you can wave your hands and do a few bends or squats. It is important not to overdo it. The body should not be sweaty. You need to go into the hole very carefully, holding on to the handrails, so as not to accidentally fall on slippery wet steps. The priests assure that one cannot enter the water without prayer. Therefore, entering the hole, you should certainly turn to God. It is important that your words are sincere and come from the heart.
When you get out of ice water, you need to carefully rub yourself with a terry towel brought with you, change into warm, dry clothes and drink hot tea. It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol before and after swimming.
How to plunge into the holy spring?
Unlike baptismal baths, you can do this at any time of the year. To ensure that these actions bring maximum effect, it is recommended that you follow a few simple rules. Going to the holy spring, you need to bring a pectoral cross, a container for holy water, a towel and a bathing shirt. It is necessary to immerse yourself in healing water three times, plunging into it with your head.
Arriving home, you need to dry the bathing shirt. It should be worn instead of night pajamas. Knowledgeable people claim that until the next wash on it retains all the healing properties. It is recommended to drink the typed holy water a little on an empty stomach after morning prayer. To get the maximum effect, you need to sincerely believe in everything that you do.
The basic rules for safe swimming in the ice hole
When immersing in icy baptismal water, you must follow the basic recommendations that can protect you from possible troubles. To avoid the risk of not finding an ice hole, it is categorically forbidden to dive under the ice. You should plunge exclusively in specially provided places equipped with thick ropes on which knots are tied. It must not be let out of the hands before leaving the hole. Representatives of rescue services should be nearby.