Baptism Day

On the night between the 18th and 19th of January, the Orthodox church here in Russia celebrates the baptism of Olga, the mother of Prince Vladamir of Kiev, who in the 10th century was baptized by the Eastern (now the Orthodox) Church. Her baptism was important, because she convinced her son to be baptized into the faith, which he was in 988 AD. This was important in that upon Prince Vladamir’s baptism, the whole of Russia effectively became “Orthodox”—even though there were, undoubtedly, many indigenous pagans remaining for years to come. That is to say, Orthodoxy was the official religion of Russia, as it remains today, though today it is “unofficially” the official religion here.

So, why did I just mention this? Well, I don’t know if the Orthodox Church knows for sure that Olga was baptized on that very day. But, they darn well better, otherwise they chose a CRAZY day to celebrate her baptism. The reason why I think it is crazy is because on the night of the 18th, loyal and devoted (you really have to be loyal and devoted to do what I am going to describe) Orthodox Christians find the nearest river, break the ice open (if necessary—this year, it was most certainly necessary) and are dipped three times into the river, just like the baptism ceremony.

Now, this year, the temperature was a numbing -30 C, which is, I think, -20 F. Still, in spite of the cold, people did it. After all, the water was a tepid -4 C, 25 F. Now, I am all for remember the heritage of the faith, BUT I don’t know why they didn’t choose to do this holiday in July or August. January?!? I doubt if the Polar Bear Club people would even swim in water this cold. I am curious if people get sick (which I am sure people do) or even die (which I have no clue about) from this activity. All I know, is that I am never going to celebrate this holiday.