The Baptism of the Lord

The day that Western Christians celebrate as ‘Twelfth Night,’ or Epiphany, becomes in Russian Kreshcheniye Gospodnye, the ‘Baptism of the Lord.’ In the books of the Apostles Matthew, Mark and Luke, Christ came to John the Baptist on the River Jordan and asked him to baptize him. During the baptism, John saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove which descended on Jesus, and heard the voice of God saying: “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” Thus man saw the three hypostases of God. This is why the Baptism is also called the feast of Bogoyavleniye (Epiphany), meaning ‘the appearance of God.’

Kreshcheniye also had a popular name — vodokreshchi. This is an echo of a pagan feast dedicated to the sun, which cleanses by water and fire. Having been combined with this pagan holiday, which lasted for twelve winter days, Christmas and Epiphany came to be perceived by people as a 12-day feast in honor of the appearance of the Man-God on earth. This 12-day cycle is called svyatki or svyatiye vechera (holy evenings, i.e. yuletide).

These days were some of the most joyous, carefree and mischievous in the old Russian year. People would play games, sing songs, dance, and go to endless parties and sumptuous feasts, while young people would visit homes and perform carols, recitals and tongue-twisters, for which they got presents and tasty morsels from their hosts.

The older generation would spend svyatki more devoutly: at Epiphany the water of all the nearby rivers, lakes and ponds was blessed. In frozen bodies of water, holes were dug which were called ‘Jordan.’ Priests would conduct processions and prayers around them with the local residents. After this it was believed that the water had adopted healing powers. It was drawn out, taken home and sprinkled on buildings, animals and sick people, and the remainder kept for a year in case anything bad happened. It was believed that Epiphany water could not only cure but also drive out evil spirits and defend against the ‘evil eye.’ This water was even used to wash cows’ and goats’ udders, and given them to drink before calving.

There was a belief in Russia that, for all of those twelve days, the new-born God wanders the earth. Any toil in that period was considered a sin, and the days themselves were a time of spiritual communion between heaven and earth, people and God. This was why, our ancestors believed, man was fated to see and experience powerful elements, in particular waters on the night of Kreshcheniye.

At Kreshcheniye, before matins, Christians believe that the sky opens and that whatever you ask of God at that time will be done, because the gates of the Lord are open. Kreshcheniye was the culmination of  svyatki, and dinner on its eve, January 18, was known as the Navecheriye Bogoyavleniya (Epiphany Supper). It began with the appearance of the first evening star in the sky and was called ‘Hungry Holy Evening,’ as according to church traditions a fast was held at this time. Young people would spend the last evening of svyatki singing carols and playing games. There were songs and parties, and fortune-telling that evening was considered the most accurate. Townspeople as well as village dwellers, servants and their masters, old and young tried to look into the future. And there were so many different types of fortune-telling that they now occupy a special place in Russian folklore and historical research.

The Kreshcheniye holiday was also the time when peasants in Russia did their accounting before the new agricultural year. That’s why they attentively watched natural phenomena, and the lives of plants and animals, so as to work out what the coming spring would be like, and also that year’s harvest. Russian peasants have left us the results of their observations in sayings which have served many generations as an oral calendar. Here are some examples:

“If the frosts at vodokreshchi are severe, don’t worry, bread will be here.”

“If at Kreshcheniye there’s snow, bread will follow.”

“If Epiphany snow is heavy, harvest a-plenty; a clear day, reaper’s dismay.”

“A starry night at Epiphany, peas and berries will be many.”

Brief Items

Ancient Romans named the first month of the year in honor of the god Janus (from the Latin janua, meaning ‘gates’ or ‘doors’). Janus was the god of entrances, exits and beginnings (including human life) and his feast day was celebrated January 9. He was portrayed with two faces pointed in opposite directions, the symbol of both present and future. The Russian versions ianvary and genvar came here via Byzantium, and replaced the old folk name prosinets. Experts believe that prosinets came from the word prosin, meaning the blue of the sky — in January the days get longer and the sun appears more often. While prosinets was found in old Russian calendars, another name, sluzhailo, was popular with common people.

Photos from Great Encyclopedia of Russia.

The month of January includes a number of anniversaries of important people in various branches of Russian arts and science.

One of the most significant figures in Russian music at the turn of the century was Alexander Scryabin (1872-1915). A composer and pianist, his works were bold and almost naively fresh, described by Boris Pasternak as a ‘feast of Russian culture.’

This month marks 50 years since the death of a very different musician. Mitrofan Pyatnitsky performed and collected Russian folk songs. He created the famous Pyatnitsky choir, and led its first performance in 1911. In all, Pyatnitsky recorded over 400 folk songs.

Another cultural figure who strove to preserve Russia’s heritage was the writer Viktor Veresayev (pictured below). He is particularly interesting to today’s readers as a literary historian, for his works of research on the nineteenth century, including Pushkin in Life, Pushkin’s Companions and Gogol in Life, written in the 1920s and 30s.

Veresayev’s contemporary Konstantin Bogayevsky, however, was involved in a different world, the World of Art — literally, because he was a member of the movement of this name. Mir Iskusstva, as it was called in Russian, marked a reaction against the large social and historical canvasses of the Itinerant movement and a move towards smaller, more intimate and aesthetically pleasing works. Bogayevsky was also a pupil of the great Russian landscape painter Arkhip Kuinzhi.

Two Russian discoverers have anniversaries in January. One hundred and fifty years ago, the geographer, statistician and public figure Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky was born. He is associated with about a hundred species of plants and animals which are named after him, as well as many places in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Alaska and Spitzbergen.

Another famous Russian to give his name to remote parts of the world was the great explorer Admiral Fadey Bellingshausen, who died 145 years ago this month. He completed several round-the-world voyages, and discovered two Antarctic territories, Peter the First and Alexander Lands, in 1820. A sea in the Pacific Ocean, a promontory in the south of Sakhalin island and an island in the Tuamotu archipelago are named after him.