WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

by Stamen Manolov; photography by Anthony Georgieff

One of the many differences between Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox tradition concerns Epiphany

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Whereas in the West it signifies the introduction of Baby Jesus to the magi, in the East it celebrates Christ's baptism by St John in the Jordan river and the simultaneous appearance of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

In Bulgarian traditional culture, Epiphany is known as Yordanovden, or Jordan's Day. It is dedicated to water as a means of physical and spiritual purification – and to everyone male or female who bears the popular first name of Yordan or Yordanka.

Bulgarians celebrate Epiphany in a loose reenactment. A priest blesses an open body of water, into which he throws a cross. The young men of the community jump in and whoever finds the cross first will be blessed, healthy and lucky throughout the year.

In recent years a small town in central Bulgaria gained international notoriety for the huge party of men dressed in 19th century village costumes and in various stages of intoxication who jump into the icy waters of the Tundzha river and dance the inevitable horo dance. TV cameramen vie to get them in focus and in latterday times drones narrowly escape collision over their heads. The Yordanovden feast has gotten out of proportion, some locals surmise, and you have to book months in advance if you want to stay in one of the town's guest houses the night before.

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WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
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