Orthodox Christians participated in blessing of the waters ceremonies, while Catholics in the Vatican attended Mass in St. Peter's basilica.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The Christmas season came to a close on Monday with celebrations of Epiphany by Christian
00:08communities all over Europe.
00:11The Orthodox Christian tradition is marked by blessing of the water ceremonies, where
00:16swimmers rush to retrieve a cross thrown by a priest into the water.
00:20The tradition commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ was observed in countries including
00:25Greece and Bulgaria.
00:27The religious holiday of Epiphany is also celebrated in some Western Christian churches
00:32as Three Kings Day, which marks the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus.
00:38Swimmers in Prague took to the icy waters to participate in the annual Three Kings swim.
00:44In the Vatican, the Pope presided over mass in St. Peter's Basilica and spoke from the
00:49window of the Apostolic Palace to thousands of faithful gathered below.
00:54Other traditions included a Three Kings procession in the streets of Warsaw and Romania's annual
00:59horse race.
01:02In France, President Emmanuel Macron sliced a giant Epiphany cake, a tradition held at
01:07Elysee Palace since 1975.