The Christian holiday - Epiphany is celebrated on the night of January 19 every year. On this night it is customary to perform the ritual of sacred ablution, despite the fact that this time is usually associated with Epiphany frosts. According to legend, all water in reservoirs becomes holy and acquires special healing properties. It is believed that a person, having plunged into an ice hole with blessed water, is cleansed of all sins and receives good health for the whole year. For everyone who wants to celebrate this holiday, special fonts in the form of a cross (Jordan) are created in natural reservoirs. A special rite of blessing the water is first carried out over them: the priest reads a prayer and immerses the cross in the water three times. The ritual of immersion is usually performed only after the Divine service.

IN recent years This tradition attracts more and more people who want to celebrate baptism in an ice hole. Not everyone follows the safety rules. Before making such a brave decision, you need to familiarize yourself with the contraindications and precautions when swimming.

Safety

To prevent accidents and injuries while participating in the ritual of a Christian holiday, you must adhere to some rules:

• Perform immersion only in specially equipped swimming pools. Such locations are agreed upon in advance with emergency services. Bathing takes place in an organized manner, and if difficulties arise, there is the possibility of assistance qualified assistance on the spot.
• Any alcoholic drinks prohibited. Diving into ice water while intoxicated is also not allowed.
• Bring comfortable, waterproof, and non-slip spare shoes. Use it and follow the path to the bathhouse. Take your time and don’t run, as the risk of slipping and getting injured is high.
• While waiting your turn, do a little warm-up. Jumping, squats, and a short jog will help warm up the body.
• For beginners, it is better not to make swimming movements. Once in the water, reach the depth you need and get out. Untrained people may not be able to cope with rapid breathing that occurs as defensive reaction to exposure to cold water.
• Any disease of the brain or blood vessels is a contraindication for diving into the log. When fully immersed, the vessels reflexively narrow sharply, which can lead to a stroke and loss of consciousness.
• Diving into ice water requires special preliminary preparation in the form of gradual hardening. If this is not the case, then the body may experience a sudden change temperature regime. Beginners are advised not to dive headlong into the pool.
• The optimal time spent in the ice hole is about 1 minute. This will avoid general hypothermia of the body, which can lead to colds or pneumonia.
• When exiting, use help, as there is a risk of falling off the slippery steps and going under water. It is better to use insurance in the form of a rope with knots.
• After swimming, do not stand in the cold. Rub yourself with a dry towel and put on warm clothes.
• Recommended as preventative measure drink a hot herbal drink or tea.

Comments from rescuers

Special rules for bathing at the baptism of the Lord are provided for minor citizens. Pediatricians do not recommend exposing young children to swimming in ice water. However, if you take your child with you and decide to introduce him to this Christian tradition, then do not leave him alone. Dip it in water only with you and on short time. Immediately wrap your baby in a warm blanket or blanket.

Use only those baths where doctors are on duty. In case of an unexpected reaction child's body they will be able to provide timely assistance. If your child resists, don't force him. Don't force it into water. Fear and severe cold may cause state of shock, which will provoke interruptions in the functioning of the heart and blood circulation. The best option For the first time, just wet the child’s ankles and arms.

Preparation

For safe swimming on the night of Epiphany, the choice of location for the Jordan is carried out carefully and in accordance with all established standards.

Reservoirs with a current speed of no more than 0.25 ms are considered suitable. They must be located away from the piers and have no undercurrents. At the same time, it is given special attention thickness of the ice cover. It must be at least 25 cm.

The bottom under the diving site must be checked by divers for the presence of foreign objects, large snags and sharp stones. Moreover, the evenness of the bottom is checked. Any slopes and holes can lead to accidents. The coastline should also be convenient and safe for movement.

Typically, the recommended depth of officially approved fonts is 1.5 m. In order for several people to be in the font at the same time and not interfere with each other, the size according to the standards must correspond to at least 12 m 2.

Pay attention to how and what Jordan is equipped with. The place for Epiphany bathing must have wooden flooring, handrails and steps for exit. Sometimes, as a safety net, a rope is lowered into the water and firmly secured to the shore.

Considering that the ritual is performed in winter at night, the place should have good lighting. The ice hole itself may have special canopies that protect people from gusts of wind and snow. Be sure to pay attention to the presence or absence of a warm changing room, especially if you come with children.

Remember that driving a car onto the ice is strictly prohibited. Moreover, no more than 20 people can be on the ice surface of the reservoir at the same time, in order to avoid the formation of a crowd.

Ambulance services, police officers and the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations should be on duty near the font.

Contraindications

It is recommended to take Epiphany bathing seriously, since, despite the belief in healing from all ailments, such a nightly ritual can lead to extreme adverse consequences for health.

Church ministers, together with doctors, believe that it is better to postpone bathing in the ice water of a natural reservoir if:

1. The person has recently been ill or his body has been weakened by stress or moving.
2. There are any physical abnormalities.
3. People who have consumed alcohol, as well as any drug.

Regarding existing diseases, including chronic ones, there are only recommendations to refrain from swimming on Epiphany night if there are:

1. Problems with the cardiovascular system.
2. Infections or inflammations of the nasopharynx.
3. Any diseases of the nervous system.
4. Hormonal imbalances.
5. Infectious eye lesions (styes, conjunctivitis).
6. Dermatological lesions.
7. Inflammatory processes in the urinary system.

Immersion of a person in ice water, who has never been hardened, is a strong stress factor for the entire body, even if he is absolutely healthy.

You should carefully consider all contraindications. In people who have any health problems, such bathing can cause a stroke, hypertensive crisis, asthma, heart attack. All of these conditions are extremely life-threatening. All measures for organizing the fonts and their arrangement are coordinated with the local administration of the locality where the Jordan is planned to be built. All responsibility for the safety of visitors lies with the organizers.

Epiphany bathing. In our city they collect everything every year more people, especially young people. Baptism is expected just like New Year's holidays. They prepare for it in advance, prepare food and drink. There are often cases when ablution in the ice hole continues with a trip to an autoparty. For the majority of modern youth, swimming at Epiphany has become something between a feat, extreme entertainment, folk tradition. A tradition based not on faith, but on fashion.

There are, of course, some believers who take part in this ritual. But after our conversations with them, we concluded that the majority blindly repeat the actions of others, being in full confidence that bathing at Epiphany is commanded by the Bible. But this is not so.

Epiphany is perhaps the main holiday of the 12 Great Orthodox Christian holidays. It was on this day that Christ was baptized with Jordanian waters. In this event, believers plunge into an ice hole, believing that they will wash away all their sins. But this is absolutely not true.

Father explained that Epiphany is a holiday in which intertwined folk customs with religious beliefs. The priest is confident that true believers should spend the whole day in the Temple. Listen to the liturgy, confess, take communion, and be cleansed of sins. Only this can save a sinner from a bad end, and not bathing at Epiphany.

By the way, doctors, rescuers, and clergy note with regret that the belief that you cannot catch a cold in the Epiphany ice hole is completely groundless. It is worth looking at disease statistics or to make sure of this. Faith does not save you from a cold, because God did not require that swimming in an ice hole at Epiphany was mandatory. This is not a canonical foundation. It's just a folk tradition.

The custom came to us from Greece. Do you remember what the climate is like in this country? There, from January 18 to 19, there are no frosts or frozen reservoirs. Therefore, swimming there at Epiphany does no harm. And in Russia, since ancient times, the Jordan has been carved out of the ice.

Why do priests take part in ablutions at Epiphany? in their opinion, it means joining the grace that the Lord sent to the “nature” of all waters. But on the other hand, comments Archpriest Mikhail Dudko, secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate for relations between the Church and society, since it is very difficult psychologically to plunge headlong into icy water, the act is a sacrifice to God.

I'm not going to get into the details scripture or My goal is to protect all believers and non-believers from severe consequences, which may occur after bathing at Epiphany is completed.

I offer several rules that people can follow to protect their health.

1. Check with your doctor that you do not suffer from illnesses that are incompatible with winter swimming. This will protect you from cramps, rheumatism, severe colds, inflammation, and other misfortunes.
2. Take care of a properly constructed font. It should be no deeper than 180 cm, with non-slip steps and railings. There must be a warm locker room, hot tea, and dry clothes nearby. And no alcohol.
3. Think about clothes. Swimsuits that expose the body are disrespectful to religion. Therefore, many sew long, baptismal shirts. But rubber slippers with non-slip soles are a must-have accessory.
4. Enter the hole slowly and carefully. Sudden immersion in ice water can cause seizures, heart attack, shock, etc. It is customary to plunge headlong three times. But if you are prone to cramps, it is better not to do this.
5. Beware of euphoria! Usually, in response to the stress of ice water, a person falls into ecstasy. It seems to him that he can spend another 5 minutes in the ice hole. However, this is a direct route to the hospital.
6. Be sure to dry and warm up after swimming. Best of all - in a warm room.

I believe that getting rid of sins, proving your piety, or having extreme fun is more possible in safe ways. However, everyone chooses for themselves what to do. Therefore, I can simply wish health to everyone who is going to swim in the ice hole on the night of January 18-19.

Swimming in cold water is a powerful stressor for the body. Best option– preliminary hardening procedure, consistent accustoming to sudden changes in temperature.

When a person is immersed in ice water, the resulting spasm of blood vessels in the skin leads to a redistribution of blood to the side internal organs, on which the load increases sharply, primarily on the heart. In this case, the person suffering arterial hypertension, blood pressure may increase.

Who is contraindicated from plunging into the Jordan for Epiphany!

It is not recommended to risk the health of people who suffer from heart disease, arterial hypertension, arrhythmia and obesity. Those suffering from respiratory diseases, for example, asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, sinusitis, should also resist the desire to swim in the ice hole. Also, people who have serious illnesses should not swim. skin diseases, such as psoriasis or eczema. You should not swim if you have a cold, elevated temperature. The risk of contracting pneumonia increases sharply.

Epiphany bathing will also not bring benefits to citizens who suffer from stress, insomnia, are prone to neurotic reactions, are registered with a psychiatrist, or receive psychological help.

People with chronic diseases, it is better for young children and the elderly to refrain from this ritual or accept contrast shower Houses.

How not to get sick after swimming in an ice hole!

In order not to get sick after swimming in an ice hole, it is recommended to thoroughly dry your body with a towel, dress in warm woolen clothes, drink hot tea with honey, do not drink alcohol and, if possible, do not walk long distances, but take a warm transport.

Is it possible to swim in an ice hole if you don’t believe in God?

Baptism in an ice hole is an ancient folk custom, and not a church sacrament; only repentance during confession in church makes absolution possible. Therefore, if you do not plunge into the ice hole, nothing will be lost from a person.

Attention!

If you decide to join ancient rite First of all, objectively assess your capabilities. Don't risk your health. It is advisable to consult your doctor.

In the ice hole, a walrus faces prostatitis, impotence, infertility, herpes, and sometimes instant death. However, amateurs ice bathing boldly jump into the water after them...

I once asked a doctor I knew how he felt about winter swimming. I liked his answer extremely. If you throw 100 people into an ice hole now, the doctor says, then 95 will die immediately. Four will be sick for a long time, but they will pull through. And nothing will happen alone. And this ONE will sit down to write a book about how long it took him to achieve this.

Swimming in an ice hole in Rus' is an ancient activity. But in lately The walrus movement began to expand and multiply in its composition. And thus forced specialists to think about the benefits and possible harm pagan action.

There were few arguments in favor of winter swimming. Honestly, just one. The body really gets a hardening effect. Nobody argues with this. But, having calculated how much harm such hardening causes to the organs and systems of the body, the doctors quite rightly decided that we don’t need such goodness for nothing. And here's why.

Everyone has long known that even in summer you need to swim carefully. Most often, sudden cardiac arrest occurs while swimming due to temperature changes.

Therefore, you cannot immediately dive into a body of water. You need to enter the water slowly so that the skin receptors get used to the change in body temperature gradually. If you immediately plunge into water, there may be a spasm of blood vessels throughout the body, muscles, skin, subcutaneous tissue. Because of this, blood circulation increases, and the heart simply may not be able to cope with this flow. And then a disaster occurs in the form of an angina attack, a heart attack, a stroke, and some may even have cardiac arrest.

In such cases, it can be very difficult to start the heart again. Any emergency medical technician will tell you this. But during summer swimming we're talking about about the difference in temperature of just a couple of degrees, plus ones at that. What can we say about swimming in icy water and even in freezing temperatures? Moreover, if you consider that the cold does not encourage you to wait for a long time until the body gets used to the water, but drives you to quickly take a dip and instantly get out of the water. The load on the body is enormous. And the stress is the strongest. By the way, another well-known fact is that being in water at a temperature of plus 12 degrees for 5 minutes leads to hypothermia of the body with a fatal outcome.

Cardiovascular disaster is not the only danger that awaits the newly minted walruses. And the worst thing happens to male walruses. Due to the stress that the body experiences, men's sperm count decreases. This has already been proven. The American doctor Moskowitz reported this at one time, and Russian scientists also confirmed this. Moreover, domestic andrologists believe that stress should generally be placed in first place among the causes of infertility.

The fact is that under stress, the body produces glucocorticoid hormones, as well as adrenaline and norepinephrine. They inhibit spermatogenesis. It’s not for nothing that they say that animals do not reproduce in captivity. Why? Yes, because captivity for them is constant stress. And for reproduction you need favorable, comfortable conditions. Finding them in an ice hole is the greatest absurdity.

The next argument against winter swimming also applies to men, and it was already expressed by urologists. The male prostate is a very delicate organ, fragile, and therefore brittle. And it can break from any sneeze. The prostate is especially afraid of hypothermia. An inflammatory disease that can be caused by hypothermia is a prelude to impotence. Now, in my opinion, even schoolchildren know about this. Among diseases, chronic prostatitis is considered the most harmful for conception! Or rather, not even the disease itself, but its consequences. Chronic prostatitis in an ice hole can easily be obtained.

Same troubles with reproductive organs female walruses also have: inflammatory diseases ovaries or appendages, tubal obstruction. And in the future - long-term treatment with an unpredictable outcome. True, women are a little luckier in this sense than men. Their bodies are stronger and they recover more successfully.

With ARVI, winter divers are also not doing well - contrary to popular belief. Walruses get sick throughout the year colds approximately 2-3 times. This is not much, scientists say. However, it was discovered that colds walruses, unlike ordinary mortal citizens, last much longer. Moreover, many of them have long-term residual effects after undergoing viral infection such as weakness, fatigue. Moreover, women suffer from ARVI more often and more severely than men.

Many scientists have noted: yes, the incidence of disease in walruses is low, but they are thoroughly tormented bacterial infections. Moreover, such diseases do not occur in a typical manner, that is, they do not correspond to classical symptoms. And after an illness, walruses have more complications than ordinary citizens. By the way, people get sick in the same way, for a long time living in cold climates, as well as indigenous peoples of the North.

The more experience walruses have, the more trouble falls on their heads. For example, people who have been swimming in winter for more than 5 years are much more likely to get herpes. They take much longer to heal wounds and cuts than ordinary people. And newbies often have pustular diseases skin.

This raises a completely reasonable question: was all this worth such torment? Moreover, the same result - less colds - can be achieved by such a harmless and very pleasant hardening method as a “comfort bath”. You sit in hot bath, pick up a book and read or listen to music until the water cools down. Then you get out of already cool water and rub with a terry towel until the skin turns pink. That's the whole hardening procedure. You can also harden yourself contrast dousing legs First, pour from the shower onto your feet warm water, then cool. And so you repeat the procedure several times. It will take even less time. But the effect is the same. But only without extreme sports, herpes, chronic prostatitis, infertility and impotence.

On January 19, all Orthodox believers celebrate one of the main church holidays- Baptism of the Lord. According to tradition, on the night from Thursday to Friday, thousands of people will immerse themselves in fonts of blessed water to gain spiritual and physical health. At the same time, the conditions for diving are extreme: cold water, minus temperature and slippery ice. About safety rules during Epiphany bathing - in the material “360”.

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What to take with you?

Those who decide to participate in Epiphany bathing need to think through everything down to the smallest detail. Before visiting the font, you should choose warm, but not restrictive clothing. It is better to wear two pairs of socks on your feet: regular and wool. There is only one rule when choosing shoes for visiting the font - they must be warm. Ideal option For the celebration of Epiphany, felt boots will be worn near the pond.

Before diving into the ice hole, you must put on rubber flip-flops or slippers, and also take two towels with you. One of them should be laid at the exit from the font so as not to step on the snow cover. With a second towel (preferably terry) you should intensively dry your body and head. It is especially important to ensure that your hair does not remain wet - otherwise Epiphany bathing may result in a severe cold.

After diving into the font, you should change into warm clothes and drink hot tea. Do not forget about constant movement, thanks to which blood begins to circulate faster throughout the body and the body warms up much faster.

Follow safety rules

When preparing to swim in an ice hole, it is especially important to find a safe body of water - diving into an unequipped ice hole is prohibited, Andrei Koshkin, a former teacher at the Academy of Civil Defense, told 360. You should not drink alcoholic beverages - it is better to warm up with tea. “You need to come to the font in warm clothes, having a towel and dry things with you. It will be good if there are changing cabins next to the font,” the expert said.

According to him, anyone can spend one minute in ice water without harm to health, but before diving into the font it is better to consult a doctor. It is better to enter the ice hole gradually so that the body has time to adapt to the low temperature. The most preferable option is to rinse your knees first, then your hands, and then wash your face. “I advise you to definitely run your wet hands over the back of your head. But if you feel that your body is not ready for complete immersion, then you don’t have to plunge headlong,” Koshkin explained.

After bathing in consecrated water, you should not indulge in alcoholic beverages. First of all, you need to put on dry and loose clothes, and then move actively. You can’t immediately get into the car and warm up with the help of a stove - it’s better to arrange light jog. “If you feel numbness, then make swinging movements. It is necessary for the blood to reach your limbs,” the 360 ​​interlocutor clarified.

The ice hole must be equipped with approaches - as a rule, these are wooden stairs. Medical and rescue stations, as well as food and heating facilities should be located next to the font. You need to approach the ice hole in special shoes - for example, rubber flip-flops. Children should be in the font only in the presence of their parents, Koshkin said. Much in this case depends on adults - they should have at least a theoretical understanding of how Christmas swimming takes place.

Rules for organizing the font

In Rus', people did not care about the fonts: some carved them in the shape of a cross, while others simply made an ice hole, the chairman of the executive committee of the Russian Union of Rescuers, Sergei Shchetinin, told 360. “Now the rules have changed: the ice hole must have handrails that allow a person to quickly enter and exit the water,” he explained. The depth of the font should be no more than one and a half meters so that a person cannot sink into it below the level of his head. At the bottom of the ice hole, special wooden flooring is installed, and next to it there are heating rooms.

“Rescuers are in close proximity to provide immediate assistance. They must be dressed in wetsuits and have life jackets with them,” Shchetinin said. As a rule, a place for organizing a font is chosen near the shore of a reservoir - it is fenced off with tape, and the paths for entry and exit are indicated.

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