Epiphany, or Yordanovden, is one of Bulgaria's best known Orthodox high days. Its popularity can be explained with the spectacular way Bulgarians mark it, usually creating a bit of international news every year.

While in Western Christianity Epiphany, on 6 January, is the day when the young Christ was presented to the three magi, the Eastern Orthodox tradition is different. According to it, Epiphany is the day when St John baptised Christ in the River Jordan, and God's three entities (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) appeared together.

The colder the better: Epiphany in Burgas

Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany in a loose reenactment. A priest blesses an open body of water, then he throws a cross into it. The young men of the community jump in. Whoever finds the cross first will be blessed, healthy and lucky throughout the year. In Bulgaria with its harsh winters, jumping into open water in January is obviously both a challenge and an achievement. On the other hand, when young men are involved, a challenge and an achievement only make things more exciting, turning the rite into a show of daring, strength and masculinity.

In Bulgarian traditional culture, Epiphany is known as Yordanovden, or Jordan's Day. It is dedicated to water as a means of physical and spiritual purification. The feast also marks the end of the so-called Dirty Days, which start on 25 December with the birth of young Jesus. The old Bulgarians believed that until Baby Jesus was baptised, all the evil spirits roamed the world, free to cause mischief and harm to people during the night. This demonic reign would end on Epiphany.

Every year, the famed horo dancing in Kalofer attracts huge crowds

Modern Bulgarians do not believe in Dirty Days and goblins prowling the streets on the lookout for someone silly enough to be outside in the dead of night. After the fall of Communism, however, the ritual was speedily revived, helped by a media hungry for spectacular and bizarre events to report on. The fact that many people called Yordan and Yordanka celebrate their name day on Epiphany only helped the resuscitation of Bulgarian interest in the day of 6 January.

Inevitably, the way Bulgarians celebrate Epiphany has changed, reflecting the modern times. Today, many of the young men shivering on the banks of a river or at the seashore, ready for the priest to throw in the cross, do it for the adrenaline rush and the opportunity that participation in such an extreme experience provides to brag about on social media later. Few of them are aware of the meaning of the word Epiphany and who John the Baptist was, let alone understand fully the concept of the Holy Trinity. The famous horo dance in the icy waters of the Tundzha River in Kalofer, which for years was a small, local affair and a rite of passage for the young men in town, is now a major media circus that is all about what contemporary Bulgarians see as "patriotism" and less about the true meaning of the ancient purification ritual.