One of the most important festivities of the Orthodox Church is the Baptism of Christ, a religious ceremony that subjects believers to a bath in freezing temperatures at any of the 3,321 points set up for such an occasion. Some of them are open pits in the ice.
Among the almost two million Russians who unconditionally follow the tradition, according to government sources, we find people of all ages and physical conditions; from children to the elderly, passing through all types of citizens of different complexions.
Tradition says that Russians must immerse themselves three times in the icy water, crossing themselves before each dive, as we see in the images that accompany this text.
This year, the baptism has been less painful, since during the night temperatures of “only” two degrees positive were recorded – in some parts of Russia – when the usual rate for this time of year would be between ten and fifteen degrees negative. .
