Russian January is …kind of… rich on holidays.
January 7th- Christmas.
January 14 - Old New Year.
January 19th - Epiphany
In the Orthodox Church, Epiphany, or The Baptism of the Lord, is one of the most important holidays and is celebrated in Russia on January 19 (January 6, Old style). The holiday is dedicated to the baptism of the Savior in the waters of the Jordan River by John the Baptist. The holiday is non-rolling, it is always celebrated on January 19th. It begins on the evening of January 18, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany Eve.
Christmas Holidays also end at this time.
The period between these two holidays (we don’t talk about the Old New Year) is called Yuletide (Christmastide, Holy Days). A special celebration of the 12 days after Christmas exists not only among the Slavic peoples, but also in other countries.
The main tradition of the holiday is the consecration of water. It is believed that water consecrated on the eve of Epiphany has a blessed power and is able to heal ailments. Epiphany water is drunk only on an empty stomach – as a shrine. Believers also sprinkle consecrated water on their homes and store it for future use throughout the year.
It is customary to collect holy water on January 18 and 19. On the eve of Epiphany, on January 18, after the Divine Liturgy, the Great Consecration of Water is celebrated. After the ritual, holy epiphany water is usually distributed at temples throughout the day.
Epiphany bathing is a folk tradition that exists in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and in some other countries, associated with bathing in the ice hole (Jordan) or in open reservoirs on the feast of Epiphany on January 19. The tradition became widespread after the collapse of the USSR. According to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the widespread idea of people's purification from sin through triple immersion in the consecrated Jordan hole is erroneous. However, The City Hall and the Tomsk Diocese are organizing two baptismal fonts on the Tom River in Tomsk.
Once, a couple of years ago, my youngest son participated in it. I think just for fun.
While the main christian tradition of the period is the consecration of water, the main folk tradition - fortune-telling.
According to Christian tradition, fortune-telling is considered a sin. Nevertheless, the desire to know their future has always been tempting for people.
It was popularly believed that the darkest period of the year was the time of the greatest activity of unclean, otherworldly forces. People believed that evil spirits could help them look into the future, so it was customary to guess at Christmas. Divination is considered to be one of the main folk traditions on Yuletide, a custom that has been preserved since pre-Christian pagan times, which fell on the same winter period.
Fortune-telling
Usually girls were more interested in fortune-telling. The issue of marriage was a key one for a traditional society, which is why young girls were interested in learning something about the future groom - his name, what he would be like.
-They would put a key or ring under the pillow — these objects were supposed to provoke a prophetic dream in which the betrothed could appear.
They would put a comb under the pillow with the words "Betrothed, mummified, come comb me."
-They threw their shoes (felt boot) over the fence and looked where the sock was looking – the groom was supposed to arrive from that side.
-It was also believed that on the night before Christmas, you can find out the name of your future husband. To do this, the girls went outside and asked the first man they met what his name was.
I myself had done this, LOL. My future husband’s name was supposed to be Nicolay. Well, I didn't even have a boyfriend with this name. It can tell you how trustworthy those fortune-tellings were.
Another popular method was fortune-telling on paper
Girls would take a sheet of white paper, a white plate without drawings and a candle. Turn off the light, fold the white sheet with your hands, put it on a plate and light it with a candle flame. The shadow of burning paper will tell you the answers to your questions.
If the shadow looks like a flying bird, expect exciting changes. If the shadow looks like a cat, there will be a romantic meeting, a heart or a crown — look forward to a wedding or a successful marriage soon. If the outlines of a house appear in the shadow of burning paper, the purchase of housing or cohabitation with a future husband is ahead.
That one I did when I was already married. Three moms with kids got together at my friend's house. While children were playing in another room their moms burned papers. My friend had a plant hanging on the wall we used for the shadow. The plant didn’t survive. 😄
Of course, there are many other ways of divination. But what matters is why people do it.
If someone is unhappy at the moment, the person is looking for an answer when and how this will change.
Here (in the USA) I don't even have time to think about it. To write this post, I went online to remind myself.
The other things I found online:
-A five-year-old child was bitten by a tick on January 10 in one of the villages of the Tomsk region.
Scientists believe that due to global warming, ticks woke up early this year. It seems to me that they didn’t go to sleep at all.
-On January 16, five schools in Tomsk received bomb threat messages. The messages, of course, were false.
-New Year's illumination will work in Tomsk until about January 25, a representative of the Department of Urban Activities and Landscaping told RIA Tomsk on Thursday.
Resources:
https://www.riatomsk.ru/article/20250111/kolyadki-tomsk-foto/
https://www.riatomsk.ru/article/20250111/svyataya-voda-kreschenie/
https://www.kp.ru/family/prazdniki/gadaniya-na-rozhdestvo/
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