Epiphany doings

     Here in Bulgaria, Epiphany is celebrated as Yordanovden, or St. Jordan's Day. It's a time when, following a church service,  the priest throws a cross into the local river to bless the waters. The young unmarried men of the parish dive in to retrieve it. It looks like this after they've found the cross. If you look closely, you will even see bagpipers and drummers!

 

The young man who succeeds in retrieving the cross will be especially blessed in the upcoming year.

 

After they all finally get out of the river (remember, it is January!), he is expected to parade the cross from house to house in the village, along with the other young men. They sing traditional songs, allow the householder to kiss the cross, and they sprinkle the doorstep with river water. The householder is expected to provide a small gift of money. Sounds like something from the Middle Ages, right? Well, not here. The young men visited our house today and sang, danced, and sprinkled the yard with holy water. My mother was enchanted and was delighted to provide them with some money for their troubles. We should have a blessed year in 2014 and our garden should do particularly well!