Feast of the Holy Theophany

On January 6 the Bulgarian orthodox church celebrates the Jordan day or the Feast of the holy theophany – the third most important and one of the most anticipated Christian feasts, for people believe that on this day all evil powers go away. According to the biblical legend, on this day Jesus Christ was baptized in the river of Jordan by John the Baptist. When this happened, the sky opened and God appeared, telling all men the person being baptized was his son. The Holy Ghost also appeared as a pigeon. From this day on, the trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exists. According to traditional customs, the priest throws a cross into the river and only strong men are allowed to jump into the river and catch the cross, using only their mouth.