BELARUS. 2014. Lobcha.
(some 250 kilometers south of Minsk)

Villagers celebrating Kolyadki, a pagan rite where villagers dress up in costumes and sing songs in houses around the villages, and feast at home. The rites are celebrated at the same time as Orthodox Christmas, making for a unique local blend of Christian and pagan customs.

Clad in a set group of figures (Gypsies, a goat and old men/women, the villagers sing carols at neighors houses, who then give money and treats (kolbasa sausages, alcohol or otherwise), or invite the merrymakers into their house for a drink and a snack.