Then, I realized that it doesn't matter whether holy water is carried in a crystal vial, an aluminum bucket, or a vodka bottle - it's still holy water. Usually we try to honor the sacred with something more appropriate though. Churches of every creed and confession all over the world are filled with precious metals and priceless artwork. We who attend church dress up for it. We genuflect when we enter.
People invariably pay the sacred a great deal of respect.
It just didn't seem right to carry holy water in a vodka bottle. As I sat there thinking about what I'd seen, however, the vodka bottle suddenly made sense. Latvia is not a country where people can afford to buy expensive crystal, let alone gold or silver. Most of the bottles that Latvians have are misshapen or discolored. But vodka is sold in clear, attractive bottles.