There are various pseudo-Christian traditions associated with church holidays. One of these is the practice of collecting "holy" water on Epiphany night at springs where the rite of water consecration did not take place, wells, columns and ordinary water taps. Many people still follow this established tradition, not realizing that real holy water for the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is only where it is consecrated.
The answer to the question of where the tradition of collecting water on the night of the Epiphany at springs, in wells and ordinary water taps came from is hidden in the post-revolutionary Russian times. Before the 1917 revolution, few of our pious ancestors could conceive of holy water over which the rite of consecration of water did not pass. In all Orthodox churches on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, water was blessed, and the rite of consecration could also take place at the springs. In this case, in an open reservoir, water was considered sacred. However, with the advent of atheistic power in Russia, the situation changed. Many churches were closed and there was a shortage of clergy. All this led to the fact that after 1917, the use of water at the springs ceased. In addition, in many cities and villages there were no functioning temples at all, in which water could be consecrated. It so happened that believers were left completely without a great shrine on the feast of the Baptism of Jesus Christ.
This situation could not suit the Russian people. Pious Christians began to organize trips to the springs themselves, in secret from the authorities. These trips for holy water were carried out on the night of Epiphany. Most often, there were no priests with believers. Therefore, pious grandmothers and grandfathers prayed in a secular rank, sang festive Epiphany hymns and took water from the springs in memory of the historical event of the Baptism of the Lord. However, there was no rite of the great Epiphany consecration of water. Over the decades, this practice of going to the springs has become so deeply rooted in the minds of the people that the presence of a priest at the blessing of water at the springs has become considered completely unnecessary.
It is generally accepted that on the night of Epiphany all water is holy. This is the main postulate for those who still collect unconsecrated water from springs and home taps. However, if the Christian Church speaks about the global consecration of all watery nature on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, this does not in any way apply to the holy baptismal water, which is called holy (great) hagiasma in the Orthodox tradition. Holy Agiasma is precisely the water over which the Epiphany rite of the great consecration of water was performed. It turns out that the consecration of all watery nature and the consecration of water, like the holy hagiasma, are completely different things. That is why it makes no sense to talk about tap water as a holy hagiasm on the night of the Baptism of the Lord.
Currently, the clergy does not tolerate harassment from the authorities. Many temples began to operate. There is no large deficit in the clergy (such as was observed in the Soviet years). Accordingly, now there is no need to follow the practice of self-pumping water in springs, as it was before. It is worth remembering that the unconsecrated cannot be sanctified if we are talking about holy baptismal water (great hagiasma).
You can also cite another source of the tradition of collecting water on the night of Epiphany, for example, in a water supply system. There is a practice according to which Epiphany water is diluted with ordinary water. The latter is then consecrated. This is done when a believer runs out of holy baptismal water. There is even a saying that one drop of water sanctifies the sea. But this is precisely the proverb. Some believe that on Epiphany night somewhere, for example, in Russia on the river, a blessing of water was performed in a river font. Thus, the entire river became holy and, accordingly, all its tributaries. And water in the water supply system comes from rivers (often). So, some believe, the water is running in the tap as well. Such a point of view also does not have an Orthodox foundation, because, in this case, the one in the toilet can also be considered holy water. However, this is not acceptable for the Christian consciousness. In addition, for example, in Russia there is a significant difference in time. Blessing of water in the river takes place at different times. However, many people count from 12 o'clock at night. This is another logical nonsense.
The Orthodox Church says that if water is blessed on the river, then it is in the place of the font that it becomes holy, that is, in the immediate place where it is blessed. The question of the boundaries of the spread of holy water in a river from a consecrated font no longer belongs to the field of Orthodox doctrine, but to the mystical philosophical imagination.
Thus, an Orthodox person should know that the main sources of the practice of collecting water for Epiphany in places where the rite of consecration of water did not take place is the Soviet practice of people going to springs without the clergy, as well as a misunderstanding of the thesis about the consecration of all water nature on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.
