EPIPHANY TRADITIONS; THE BULGARIAN WATER DANCE

 EPIPHANY TRADITIONS

BULGARIAN WATER DANCE




The word ‘Epiphany’ means ‘manifestation. The Church, in the Mass, commemorates a triple manifestation of Christ: to the Magi, that is, to the gentiles; in His Baptism, when the Voice from heaven declared: ‘This is my Beloved Son’; and in the miracle of changing the water into wine at Cana.
Roman Missal (1962).
One of the traditions commemorating the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River is the Orthodox Bulgarian male water dance, where, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, the men, clad in traditional embroidered shirts, and led by the town’s mayor, wade into the freezing waters of the Tundza River, where, accompanied by bagpipes, (and fortified by homemade plum brandy), they perform the peasant folk dance, the “Mazhko Horo”, stomping on the rocky river bed. They remain in the water for nearly half an hour, pushing away chunks of ice floating on the river.
Another ritual sees a priest throw a wooden cross into the river, with the men jumping into the freezing waters to get it. After the retrieval of the cross, the priest sprinkles the faithful with water, using a bunch of basil.
These events are accompanied by liturgies in all the churches on the great feast of Epiphany. (1)
The fact that these customs have survived decades of Communist rule is a testament to the durability of the human spirit. Under Communist rule, atheism was imposed and all aspects of culture, and, indeed, manner of thought, were strictly controlled by the State. Religious observance was forbidden and religious were persecuted and executed.
The fall of Communism saw a significant revival in religious observance, together with a focus on the victims of communist persecution. Information, previously suppressed, became available detailing the murder of priests, nuns and lay people at the hands of the militantly atheist Communist state. The Catholic Church was the first religious organization to commemorate her murdered clergy: In 1998, Pope John Paul II beatified Eugene Bossilkov, the Passionist Bishop of Nicopoli, who had been savagely murdered in prison during an anti-Catholic show-trial of 1952.
In 2002, three Assumptionist priests, sentenced to death with Bishop Bossilkov, were also declared martyrs for the Faith. (2)
(1) Alaribya; and Image
(2) Dr Daniela Kalandjieva
Sofia University;
“Martyrs and Confessors in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church under Communism”

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