Thousands of Russians celebrating the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany, where worshippers bathe in the icy waters of frozen lakes and rivers, have been forced to cancel their traditional ceremonies due to unusually warm winter temperatures. Across Russia, the devout and the daring celebrate Epiphany on Jan. 19 by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers, imitating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan. But local emergency services have canceled some events, saying the ice is too thin for worshippers to bathe safely.
