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.

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