A tradition of plunging in an icy river persists in Ukraine, despite the war
For many in Ukraine, the tradition of plunging into an icy body of water on Epiphany, which marks the day of Jesus' baptism, serves as a reminder that the new year represents a fresh start.
"Do it fast and don't scream," Nikolai Pastushenko, 34, thinks as he wades into the icy cold water of the river running through the center of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. He does the sign of the cross across his bare chest and then he dunks. Once. Twice. Three times. His mind goes blank.
Pastushenko is one of about three dozen people, including in a Facebook post this week that said, "there is no religious reason for the immersion in winter water and never has been."
