January 19 was Christening Day (also called Epiphany Celebration) for Orthodox Christians, the primary religion in Russia and Ukraine. But this year, possibly because of global warming, celebrations were not quite as in past years.

We in America are not the only ones raising the question “what’s going on with the weather”. People in the western part of Russia and in Ukraine have some issues about the weather also. Many Russian people observe this day by taking a dip in frozen lakes and rivers. This act is believed to purify the soul and is in celebration of the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. The practice is usually preceded by cutting holes in the ice and then going into the water. But this year. there has been no ice covering the lakes and rivers. Usually the temperatures for most of January are well below freezing. But this year temperatures have remained mostly above freezing for Moscow and St. Petersburg with the latter city having 44 degrees and driving rain on Christening Day. This forced bathers to rely more on umbrellas than on fur coats as shields from the weather.

In fact, the warmness of the winter has caused some complaints. One practiced bather observed that the experience doesn’t feel the same without that sting of the coldness. Meanwhile, others who have not taken the plunge for past Christening Day celebrations decided this year to try it because of the mild conditions. According to Moscow’s weather center, this winter to date has the warmest temperatures since records were first made in 1879. It’s such unusually warm weather in fact, that bears in the St. Petersburg zoo are awakening from hibernation several weeks early.

But not all of Russia experienced a “heat wave” for Christening Day. In Siberia, The high temperature was -7 degrees with a low of -27. Plenty of ice to cut through. However, according to Alla, who grew up in Siberia, even those temperatures are a little on the “warm” side by 15 or so degrees for this time of year. Brr-r-r-r.

And speaking of Alla, thankfully she is only moderately religious and did not request that we perform this Epiphany Celebration water dunking. If she had, I suppose I would have agreed to it, but I would have found a way for us to be at a hot spring that day. Oops, now I’ve gone and done it. She’ll read this and say “Honey, let’s do that”.

So I’ll close for now before I write myself into an around-the-world cruise.

Until next time, no matter what the weather is, may your days be full of sunshine.

Gary.

p.s. All temperatures given are in Fahrenheit

Technorati: