Romanians celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and Saint John the Baptist

Romanians celebrate two important religious Christian holidays today and tomorrow.

The Baptism of the Lord (marked on January 6) is a holiday that is celebrated today and is one of the most important 12 Christian holidays for Romanians which celebrates Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river by John the Baptist. It is marked by both Orthodox and Catholics as the first time when Jesus was shown to the world.

During this holiday, Romanian priests bless all the waters and afterwards throw the cross into the rivers. Several men jump into the water t bring it back, and it is said that the one who takes the cross out of the water will have good luck throughout the year.

The day of Saint John the Baptist, the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, who baptized Jesus in the Jordan river, is marked on January 7, which is when all the people bearing the Romanian names of Ion, Ioana, Oana are celebrated.

Otilia Haraga

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