Bulgaria - Event

Every January, in the rural villages of Bulgaria thousands of men still perform an ancient masked ceremony, which is the essence of the Kukeri Festival. Passed down for generations, this ritual is believed to ward off evil.

Wearing sheepskins, weird masks and copper bells (chanove) attached to their belts, the kukeri perform certain dances and songs to scare away the evil spirits believed to come back every winter. Great effort is put into making the Kukeri Festival's costumes, which, as magnificent and variegated as they are, can be considered works of art.