Epiphany Eve: How to Prepare for the Feast of Epiphany, What Not to Do

1. "What should we think about on Epiphany Eve and Epiphany?" Let's decipher the question more correctly: What day is Epiphany Eve? What is it dedicated to?

On January 18, Orthodox Christians celebrate the day preceding the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Baptism is the popular name for the holiday; in the Church, January 19 is called the feast of the Epiphany. And the Eve of the Epiphany is called "The Eve of the Epiphany" (the word "the eve" means the day preceding the holiday).

Although the media, both on the Eve of the Epiphany and on the Feast of the Epiphany itself, mainly write about Epiphany bathing, the Feast of the Epiphany is not at all about winter extreme sports, and not about water, even though it is holy. It is about God. That is why the main name of the day is the Feast of the Epiphany, a feast in honor of the event when all Three Persons, Three Hypostases of the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – were revealed to humanity. And it all happened when the prophet John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. During this Baptism, it was clearly, visibly revealed to those present (in the Church they say "revealed") that Jesus Christ is the long-awaited Messiah, Savior, Son of God. And, at the same time, the mystery of the nature of God, the trinity of His Persons (Hypostases) was revealed to people.

The moment of such openness, such closeness of God to people, according to one theologian, is an event of universal scale. This is what is celebrated on January 19, this is not just thought about, but even spoken about out loud and prayed for in churches – both on Christmas Eve and on Epiphany.

2. "What should be put on the table on Epiphany Eve to avoid sin?" It would be more correct to ask: How do believers fast on Epiphany Eve? What can you eat? What can't you eat? From what time can you eat?

The event of the Epiphany is so significant that in order for believers to be able to truly feel it and become part of it, a special day of strict fasting was established before the holiday (January 18). It helps us to concentrate on the spiritual, subordinating the demands of our body to the higher. As on Christmas Eve, on January 18 it is not customary to "eat food until the first star", and then they eat only sochivo – wheat or rice grains boiled with honey. Since believers try to get to the service on this day, and during the service the "first star" is symbolized by a candle carried out after the liturgy, then in real practice the fast should have ended after the morning liturgy. But due to the fact that on the day of Epiphany Eve after the Divine Liturgy the great blessing of water is performed, at which believers are also present, the fast lasts from the evening of January 17 (in the Church the day begins on the evening before) until the end of the prayer service for the blessing of water.

From the name of the day, it is easy to guess what dish will be on the table of believers on January 18. That's right, sochivo – boiled wheat, barley or rice with honey. But this is a pious tradition, and if you do not put sochivo on the table on January 18, it will not be a sin. The strict fast of the Epiphany Eve is a voluntary sacrifice of believers in honor of the joy of the Epiphany. Voluntary! And no media can declare it mandatory! And even more so, the strict fast does not apply to the sick or weakened after an illness. Or those who work a lot and selflessly – the military, police, firefighters, doctors …

That's all you need to know about food on Epiphany Eve, all the other "journalists' instructions" about how many plates should be put on the table on this day, over which shoulder not to look (or spit?) and so on – are the fruit of the writers' imagination and have nothing to do with the church calendar, since they are wild paganism.

3. "How to correctly tell fortunes on Epiphany Eve and Epiphany?"

There is no need to reformulate this. The answer is one: "No way!" You cannot tell fortunes either on Christmas Eve or on the Epiphany of the Lord. And neither during the day nor at night. Any fortune telling, sorcery is a great sin, and on the days dedicated to the Epiphany – a special blasphemy. The Bible calls soothsayers and fortune tellers of all stripes "abomination before the Lord", it also says that they will be "put to death and cast out by God from His Face".

If fortune telling was considered a crazy thing in past centuries, then in the 21st century, looking at cards, trying to understand what awaits you, is completely absurd.

Here, of course, we can recall the numerous young ladies from Russian villages and even noble houses, in defiance of the Church, peering "on the Epiphany evening" into the darkness of the mirror, trying to see their betrothed there… Yes, it happened. Yes, poets sang about it. But since then, both young girls and poets have had the opportunity to receive a good education, so it is shameful to fall into deep ignorance.

4. What is absolutely forbidden to do on Epiphany Eve? And what must be done?

It is strictly forbidden to tell fortunes, and in general to break all God's Commandments – as on all other days of the year. There are no other special restrictions on January 18.

What should be done on the day of the Epiphany Eve? In 2025, the Epiphany Eve is a day off. Therefore, it is worth coming to church in the morning. And not only for the blessing of water (blessing of water), but also for the Divine Liturgy itself, which is especially solemn, poetic and beautiful on this day. And after the liturgy and blessing of water, it is worth collecting holy water.

As for the custom of diving into an ice hole on the night of January 18 to January 19, or on the day of the Epiphany itself, it has folk rather than church roots: since ancient times, there was a belief that such bathing brings health for a year ahead. I think the point here is that people who dared to go on an Epiphany extreme initially had remarkable health. Today, the fashion for Epiphany bathing is spurred on by the media: since the current information space is based on sensationalism, a story about crowds of people jumping into an ice hole in the bitter cold seems more effective to the press than a calm narrative about the essence of the Gospel event. Hence the distorted idea of the Epiphany holiday as a day when believers should climb into an ice hole. No, they should not, and three-time (in honor of the Trinity) immersion in the Epiphany Jordan is a personal choice of a person.

5. "When is it better to collect holy water? On Christmas Eve or on Epiphany?"

In memory of the Baptism of Jesus Christ, water is blessed both on the Eve of the Epiphany and on the Feast of the Epiphany itself. Moreover, regardless of the day of blessing, all this water is called Epiphany and has the same properties.

During the blessing of water, the priest reads a prayer in which he asks the Lord to come "and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to sanctify this water, to give it the grace of deliverance, the gift of sanctification, the remission of sins, the healing of illnesses, to make it a source of incorruption, to make it destructive to demons, impregnable to the spells of the enemies of the human race and filled with angelic strength." And the prayer at the great blessing of water ends with the request: "Grant to all who touch it, and partake of it, and anoint themselves with it, sanctification, health, purification and blessing."