Do icons get cold?

If you’ve visited my parish or other Eastern parishes, you might have noticed that some icons have a scarf around them:

Like many other people, you might have wondered “What’s that all about then?”

The scarfs are not around these icons because they’re a bit chilly… These pieces of fabric are called “Rushniki” and are traditional embroidery in Eastern Europe. They are put over family portraits/pictures and icons at home. Items of emotional value are decorated this way and so it is rather natural for Saint icons to be decorated in the same way.

Of course, not all scarfs are made equal… 😉