Russia is celebrating Epiphany on Tuesday...
Epiphany is one of the Great Feasts, marking the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and the beginning of his ministry, and the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates it on January 19 in line with the Julian calendar.
The feast’s peculiar feature is the rite of the Great Blessing of Water, performed in Russian churches twice - on January 18, on the eve of the feast, and on Epiphany proper, after Divine Liturgy. Holy water is then given to believers, who store it for long periods and use it to cure illnesses and bless themselves or things and premises around them. Some people think any water - even from the taps on the kitchen sink - poured or bottled on Epiphany becomes holy.
Western Christians observe it January 6 in line with the Gregorian calendar, or, in some countries on the Sunday after January 1. On that day Western Christian tradition commemorates the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus.