Harrison Ginis, 16, holds the silver cross he retrieved from Yarra Bay (Australia) during the Greek Orthodox Church's epiphany celebrations yesterday. Tradition says it will grant his family a fortunate year. Photo: Steven Siewert
In Greek Orthodox communities, it's customary on Epiphany for the bishop to bless the chilly January waters and then throw in a Cross for which young men dive. It is considered a great blessing (and good luck) to be the one who retrieves the Cross and brings it back to the bishop.
If I'm not mistaken, there are some who swim in Walden Pond every day of the year. Perhaps Holy Family Parish could borrow this Orthodox custom.
What would Henry David Thoreau think?
Whoever retrieved the Cross from Walden Pond on Epiphany would deserve for his (or her!) family to have good fortune for the rest of the year! What about having the L Street Brownies add this to their tradition! They only run in for a few seconds, so for someone to dive in, search and retrieve would certainly deserve accolades from the bishop. Maybe either the Concordians or the L Street Brownies could wear wetsuits to ward off hypothermia. I for one do not plan to participate even if this is added to traditions!
ReplyDeleteThe advantage for the orthodox in doing such an Epiphany dive in Australia is of course that the waters are not exactly chilly in January in that part of the world. (Though parts of Oz have recently had huge storms that have closed the beaches because of the ferocity of the waves.)
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