俄羅斯人冰水沐浴慶祝主顯節
Tens of thousands of Russians jumped into holes cut in ice on Monday night and Tuesday morning on the holiday of the Epiphany, when Russian Orthodox believers take part in a baptism ceremony.
Russians stripped to swimsuits or loose robes to plunge into cross-shaped holes cut in frozen rivers, believing that the water takes on sacred powers on the holiday, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, held an all-night service in Moscow's Yelokhovsky cathedral and on Tuesday morning blessed water, which believers collect in bottles, crediting it with healing powers.
"I feel like a new man," exclaimed Nikolai Ivanov, 42, as he vigorously toweled himself off after plunging into a cross-shaped ice hole in Zaozyorye, 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Moscow.
Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida warned believers only to jump into the freezing water after consulting a doctor, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, as temperatures fell below 30 degrees Celsius in Siberia.
But many believers seemed entirely ignorant of the cold, wearing little but huge smiles as they took part in an ancient rite that has passed on through the generations since the early tsarist times.
"The cold is one of the best gifts you can give a Russian," said Dmitry Chulkov, 25, while pulling on his boots after a particularly spectacular dive. "We are all a little crazy," he later admitted.
Father Sergei, who oversees the local church, observed the hundreds of brave believers with an air of satisfaction.
"This is good for both their bodies and their souls," he said.
In Moscow around 58,000 people gathered to jump in ice holes overnight, far exceeding last year's total of 32,000 people, city police spokesman Viktor Biryukov told RIA Novosti.
The Church estimates that hundreds of thousands of believers take part in the ceremony across the country each year.
Rescue workers at the emergency ministry manned 46 officially sanctioned ice holes in Moscow, where the temperature was minus 15 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning.
為慶祝主顯節，數萬名俄羅斯東正教信徒參加了冰水洗禮儀式，在本週一晚間和週二清晨跳進冰窟中沐浴冰水。
參加慶祝活動的人們身穿泳衣或者寬大的長袍，跳進在冰凍的河面上鑿出的十字形冰窟，他們相信在主顯節這天，冰水會帶有神聖的力量。主顯節是為了慶祝施洗約翰為耶穌洗禮而設立的。
俄羅斯東正教會大主教祈偉義在莫斯科的葉洛霍夫斯基大教堂主持了通宵儀式，並在週二清晨舉行了祝聖水儀式。信徒們把聖水收集在瓶子裡，相信它可以洗清罪惡。
42歲的尼古拉•伊瓦諾夫用力地擦乾身體，大聲說道：“我覺得像是浴水重生。”他剛剛跳入十字形冰窟。冰窟位於莫斯科東部60公里（37英里）外的Zaozyorye。
俄羅斯國際新聞通訊社報道稱，教堂發言人弗拉基米爾·萊戈達提醒教徒們，在跳入冰水前要先諮詢醫生，因為西伯利亞地區的溫度已低於零下30攝氏度。
但很多教徒似乎對寒冷毫不在乎，他們脫光了衣服，臉上卻浮現出燦爛的笑容。洗禮儀式是一項古老的傳統，自早期帝國時代開始一直代代相傳至今。
25歲的德米特里· 丘爾科夫說：“寒冷是你可以送給俄羅斯人的最棒的禮物了。”當時他剛完成了一次非常壯觀的跳水，正在岸上穿靴子。之後他坦承道：“我們都有些瘋狂了。”
負責監管當地教堂的謝爾蓋神父滿意地看著數百名勇敢的教徒。
他說：“這對人們的身心都有好處。”
莫斯科市警方發言人維克多·比約科夫在接受俄羅斯國際新聞通訊社採訪時稱，該市大約有5.8萬人聚在一起跳入冰水沐浴，活動持續了一整晚，人數遠遠超過了去年的3.2萬人次。
據教會估計，俄羅斯全國每年有數萬名教徒在主顯日參加這項活動。
俄羅斯緊急情況部在莫斯科46個獲批的冰水沐浴場所配備了救援人員。本週二清晨，當地氣溫還不到零下15攝氏度。
Vocabulary:
Epiphany: 主顯節，是紀念主耶穌在約旦河裡接受先知約翰洗禮的節日。這一天，信奉東正教的人們除去教堂祈禱外，還要到冰凍的水中洗浴，以求身心健康。
John the Baptist: 施洗約翰，是耶穌基督的表兄，在耶穌基督開始傳福音之前在曠野向猶太人勸勉悔改，併為耶穌基督施洗。
tsarist：of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a czar or the system and principles of government under a czar（俄國帝制的，沙皇政體的）
with an air of: 帶著……的樣子
man: to provide with sufficient people for operation, defence（在…崗位上工作；操縱機器等；配備人員）
