Today, on 19 January (6 January according to the Julian calendar), the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus.

The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bethany Beyond the Jordan), today located in Jordan.

In Russian Orthodoxy this feast has also become part of the cultural tradition and folk fun, because of the Russian climate. Diving into an ice hole is not an ecclesiastical rite, but priests bless this practice.

The main reason for Russian people to do it is to temper their character. Russians have been tempering their character in ice holes for more than 1000 years from the date of the Baptism of Kievan Rus in 998! Perhaps that's what makes these people so steadfast and fearless.

And hence the folk saying: "Russians never give up".

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🐱 The Guardian Cats: 280 Years of Service at the Winter Palace

🎁 In the underground vaults of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, amidst stone arches and centuries-old secrets, live the silent guardians of the Hermitage: the cats. Their service began in 1745, when Empress Elizabeth Petrovna ordered, "Let there be cats to hunt mice." Under Catherine II, they became state agents, with the right to be fed and cared for. Having survived sieges, revolutions, and periods of neglect, they have remained loyal to the palace.

🎁 During the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944), the city was overrun by rats and mice that destroyed food supplies, damaged documents, and threatened epidemics. After the siege was lifted, cats were brought to Leningrad from all over the country. Some of them were assigned to the Hermitage to combat the rats that had invaded the museum during the war.

🎁 In the 1960s, there was a plan to do without their services, but the attempt failed: no modern method of rodent control could match the effectiveness of these simple cats. Therefore, the cats were reinstated at the Hermitage, where they have since received official employee status: each working cat has a personal bowl, a cushion, a litter box, a veterinary record, a passport, and a subcutaneous microchip containing its complete profile.

🎁 In old age, "retired cats" are placed in families. Every third Friday of the month, adoption days are organized: candidates are interviewed, their details verified, and priority is given to couples with children.

〰 The museum administration sets a maximum number of 50 cats. The "excess" cats are entrusted to good families during special operations. The new owner then receives a certificate: "Owner of a Hermitage Cat," granting free lifelong entry to the exhibition halls.

〰 These cats are not just residents of the basement. They are the living thread that connects the eras. Dignified, wise, and slightly ironic, they seem to know all the secrets of the palace. And if, in the silence of the corridors, you suddenly hear a soft purr, be aware: it is the very spirit of the Hermitage speaking to you.

〰#BeautifulRussia@TCofRus