Thousands of Russians celebrating the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany, where worshippers bathe in the icy waters of frozen lakes and rivers, have been forced to cancel their traditional ceremonies due to unusually warm winter temperatures.

Russians in the southern city of Anapa took their traditional Epiphany dips in waters affected by a major oil spill, officials said, despite concerns about the toxic pollution.

Thousands of Orthodox Christians marked the feast day of Epiphany on Sunday with a traditional dip into icy water.

However local emergency services in some regions cancelled events, saying it was too hazardous for worshippers to cut bathing holes in icy ponds and rivers View on euronews

In Serbia's Orthodox Christian community, the feast of the Epiphany is marked by the traditional "swim for the Holy Cross." This year, 100 competitors took part in the race in the Vlasina River in southern Serbia,

Across Russia, the devout and the daring celebrate Epiphany on January 19 by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers, imitating