This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The warmth of the holiday season mixed with frigid temperatures Friday as Utah's Orthodox Christians celebrated the Feast of Theophany.

Believers gathered at Salt Lake City's Sugar House Park for the annual blessing of the waters, carried out this year by Father Elias Koucos and Father Anthony Savas.

During such services, a priest traditionally chants prayers and reads from Scripture before blessing a small wooden cross. The priest then throws the cross into the water and parishioners race to retrieve it.

It is a scene that is played out all over Greece and many other Eastern Orthodox countries across the globe. In warmer climates, young men dive into the water to retrieve the cross.

Theophany, known as Epiphany by Western Christians, is the 12th day of Christmas and commemorates Jesus Christ's revelation as God.

While some Christians emphasize the three wise men reaching the Christ child, Orthodox Christians remember his baptism in the Jordan River and God's revelation that Jesus was his son.

In chilly Salt Lake City, the cross is tossed into the water and children, usually wearing boots, race to retrieve it.