Our world in photos: January 23
Brooklyn Eagle Staff
January 23, 2025
CHINA — Daily constitutional with a capital C: Yu Xiaofeng leaps as she jumps into a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua River in Harbin in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. The swimmers, who have been committed to rigorous daily training throughout the year, carved out a pool in the Songhua River, breaking a four-inch-thick layer of ice, which had formed again overnight, and scooping out the pieces. After stripping down, they plunged into the 30-foot-long pool.
Ms. Yu, a resident of Harbin, which sits along the Songhua River, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that winter swimming in her city can be traced back to the 1970s after locals spotted Russian Orthodox faithful being baptized in the river.
MOSCOW — Linking Orthodox Christmas and New Year, massive polar bears add to the magic: People walk and play at a park decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities with an Orthodox Church in the background in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. That church could be Christ the Saviour Cathedral, where Patriarch Kirill led a Christmas service. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a Christmas service at the Church of St George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill alongside veterans of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and their families.
The Russian Orthodox Church, along with several other Eastern Orthodox branches, celebrates Christmas Eve on Jan. 6 and Christmas Day on Jan. 7, at the same time that the Western (Latin Rite) churches mark the feast of the Epiphany and Three Kings Day.
ST. PETERSBURG — Agile pup teased by something just out of reach: A dog climbs a tree in a park in the city of Kronstadt, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. Kronstadt is situated on an island in the Gulf of Finland just to the west of St. Petersburg. In the early 18th century, Tsar Peter the Great ordered a naval base to be built on the island.
As the tsars fortified the island, they also commissioned the building of the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicolas. Designed by Vasili Kosiakov, it took about 10 years to complete (1903-1913).
MANHATTAN — Finding some pleasure in the weather: A child catches snowflakes with their tongue during El Museo del Barrio’s 47th annual Three Kings Day parade Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in New York. The Parade, which moved up Park Avenue between 106th and 115th streets, also featured lively music, hand-made crowns, free museum admission and a lively parranda — a Puerto Rican social tradition with food and singing.
El Museo del Barrio has celebrated the Three Kings Day Celebration (Celebración del Día de los Reyes Magos) with a parade and other programs since 1978, according to the museum’s website.
INDIA — Cross-dressing UP as a Hindu goddess and smashing it: An Indian man dressed as Hindu goddess Kali dances during Shri Anand Akhara Panchayati in a procession towards the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges and Yamuna, during the first ‘royal entry’ (Peshwai) for the Mahakumbh festival, lasting 55 days and celebrated about four times over — for each of India’s four major rivers — in a 12-year-period.
This part of the festival took place in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
KYIV — ‘Not going into the water today … would mess up my roses’: Young women watch people plunging into icy water during celebrations of Epiphany in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The river diving tradition commemorates the Theophany — the revelation of Christ’s presence on earth and his baptism in the Jordan River.
The legend of the Christmas Rose is beloved throughout Central Europe. It focuses on the Helleborus niger, which blooms in the middle of winter in the mountains, with variations depending on the region. The Christmas Rose story focuses on a shepherdess named Madelon and an angel who helps her.
ETHIOPIA — An Orthodox Christian New Year celebration: Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a Mass service for Ethiopian Christmas at the Bole Medhane Alem cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The Cathedral, whose name means “Saviour of the World,” with construction spanning 1924-31, is the second largest cathedral in the whole of Africa and the largest in Ethiopia.
Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia in the fourth century, A.D., just after Emperor Constantine declared the religion legal.
DUESSELDORF — Rare view of a land-bound luxury yacht blocking traffic while being transported to a boat fair: An Italian 50 tons heavy luxury yacht, Pershing GTX 80, crosses a street in front of waiting cars on its way to the upcoming boat fair in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The fair, which runs from Jan. 18-26, bills itself as “the world’s largest yacht and watersports show … with 214,000 visitors from 120 countries and more than 1,500 exhibitors from 67 nations,” according to the event’s website.
The event is also nicknamed boot Düsseldorf.
ENGLAND — Nature’s revenge or poor maintenance? Homes stand in flood water after the Grand Union Canal burst its banks in Loughborough, England, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Dozens of homes have been left flooded after a canal burst its banks during Storm Henk.
The Grand Union Canal, which runs between London and Birmingham, England, in the Midlands, is the longest canal navigation in Great Britain. The British government recently repaired a 100-meter section of the canal bank.
KREMLIN — With an opportunity to be shown doing good, a smile: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on the phone with Arina Porkhal, a 15-year-old girl from Donetsk in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, as part of the New Year Tree of Wishes nationwide charity campaign, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
Established in 2018, the New Year Tree of Wishes has brought together thousands of people in the spirit of giving, particularly to help make the hopes and wishes of more than 210,000 children come true.
