Swimmers dive into a swimming pool to capture a metal cross during a ceremony to bless the waters in Athens, Jan. 6, 2004. Similar ceremonies to mark Epiphany Day were held across Greece at river banks, seafronts and lakes. An Orthodox priest throws a cross into the water and the swimmers race to retrieve it first.
James Hughes, 16, of Clearwater, Fla., celebrates after retrieving the cross from Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Jan. 6, 2004, during the annual Epiphany celebration. This is the 98th year the Greek Orthodox church has held the celebration in Tarpon Springs. Hughes, one of 47 Greek Orthodox boys to dive for the cross, is said to be blessed for the coming year.
Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, left, performs the sanctification of the water assisted by Deacon John, of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, during the celebration of the Epiphany at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Jan. 6, 2003, in Tarpon Springs, Fla. He blesses the faithful with a bunch of basil.
A swimmer raises a metal cross out of a swimming pool during a ceremony to bless the waters in Athens, Jan. 6, 2004.
Children play with a ball in the Centro Historico in Mexico City, Jan. 6, 2004. Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the three kings, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Three men dressed up like the Three Kings are seen during a parade in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Epiphany holiday, Jan. 6, 2004.
People wearing traditional dress walk with a flock of sheep during a parade on the Epiphany holiday in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Pope John Paul II delivers his blessing from his studio's window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2004. The pontiff marked the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's historic trip to the Holy Land, repeating his call for world leaders to work ever more closely for peace. Pope John Paul II also sent his greetings to Orthodox Christians who are marking their Christmas.
A Romanian Orthodox priest sprays worshipers with holy water during the religious celebration of the Orthodox Epiphany in Bucharest, Romania, Jan. 6, 2004. Up to 2,000 Orthodox worshippers braved freezing temperatures in a ceremony commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, kisses a cross during the Epiphany service at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 6, 2004. Bartholomew I led worshippers, mostly members of Istanbul's small Greek community and tourists from neighboring Greece, in the Epiphany ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters, symbolizing the baptism of Jesus.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I blesses Carlo Tarinas, left, and Simon Papas, second left, with a wooden cross in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 6, 2004, after Tarinas retrieved it from the waters of the Golden Horn. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I threw a wooden cross into Golden Horn and two young men jumped into the frigid waterway to retrieve it at a traditional ceremony marking the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Alfonso, dressed as one of the Three Kings, or Reyes Magos, poses for a picture with a crying baby, Jan. 5, 2004, in Mexico City, in the celebration of the Epiphany, when Christmas presents are traditionally given to children in Mexico. Epiphany celebrates the arrival in Bethlehem of the three kings on Jan. 6, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to celebrate the birth of Christ.
The Three Kings, or Reyes Magos - from left Raul, Jose and Ernesto - take a picture with a crying baby, Jan. 5, 2004, in Mexico City, in the celebration of the Epiphany, when Christmas presents are traditionally given to children in Mexico. Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the three kings on January 6 bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to celebrate the birth of Jesus and marks the end of the Christmas season.