Everyone loves Burry Man, the horrifying man covered in burrs!
Several people asked to see more freaky ancient European folk customs so here is a THREAD 🧵
First, of course, we have the Burry Man of South Queensferry, Scotland:
Next is Mari Lwyd, a Welsh holiday where a parade of people dress up in horse skeletons who go door to door challenging people to "pwnco battles" where they try to "pwn" people at a contest of witty improvised rhymes
it's like if 8 mile was welsh
Straw bears appear around Shrovetide and Candlemas in Whittlesea, and also in Germany. Thought to be a way ploughmen would earn money in the winter when the soil was too hard to plow
During the Busójárás hundreds of Busós cross the river into the city of Mohacs, Hungary and begin their carnival of terror. Once they catch the witch they hold a funeral for her. Then the Great Bonfire can begin, as the people of the village dance and sing.
In the Shetland Islands, Up Helly Aa used to involve tar barreling, where mischievous young men dragged burning barrels of tar through the streets. It was considered dangerous so they replaced it with a torch procession, which is also Viking themed
The International Festival of Masquerade Games in Pernik Bulgaria is the modern name of the Surva festival which traces back to ancient Thrace, when the hairy Kukeri would come at night to chase away evil spirits.
You're not supposed to know about Sunneklaas so I won't talk about it
Like in many of these other holidays, the Finnish Nuutinpäivä are young men in goat costumes who go from house to house demanding leftovers and booze. It's like if trick-or-treating was actually horrifying
There is also Krampus and the Rijeka Carnival, and many other mischievous goatman holidays, you get the idea.
El Colacho is baby-jumping festival of Spain, pretty self-explanatory
In Ivrea, Italy there is the Battle of the Oranges, which used to be a general. food fight before oranges were introduced to Europe. They are however perfect for throwing and soon became the weapon of choice. Also, men wear skirts for this one.
Juantramposo is a man in a large straw suit who does a funny dance, and gets into comical fights without being harmed
Schnappviecher are evil cow monsters from the Tirolean alps
The Cooper's Hill Cheese Roll probably belongs on this list
Mama mia! It's the Mamoiada carnival of Sardinia! There are two characters: Mumathones are bound to silence and march without interaction, while the Issahadores have random outburts and catch onlookers with ropes and nets
In the French Pyranees there is the festival of the bear. There is one person dressed as a bear who terrorizes the village. The hunters must capture them and shave it with their axes in order to protect the maidens
In Comănești, Romania, it's Oops! All Bears!
"Dance, dance, bear
Because the blackberries will ripen
And you’ll get nice and fat"
December 26th is not Boxing Day in Ireland it is Wren Day and the Wrenboys come out wearing their straw disguises, which is what hunters once wore. They used to capture a live wren (bird) and parade it around asking for money
Everyone keeps comparing these to Midsommar, and probably the holiday closest to the movie vibe is Kupala in Belarus (in the middle of summer), where people leap through flame to show bravery and women deposit plants in the river and observe their flow to predict the future
The actual Swedish Midsommar celebration has a more of a renaissance festival/square dance vibe
This is definitely one of the scariest ones on this list
Incredible
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