41-year-old festival celebrates winter traditions in Romania

Every year (since 1968) between Christmas and the New Year’s Eve, Sighetu Marmatiei's center turns into a large carnival, with colorful masks and strange characters such as the Goat, the Whitebeard, Lady Death or the three Magi parading along the crowded streets. Peasants dressed in traditional costumes parade in the town center, horse riders and carriages with carol singers and masked people present customs from Maramures and other parts of the country. This is the Marmatia Festival of Winter and Christmas Traditions that gathers folk groups from villages in the Land of Maramures, that re-enact ancient traditions, sing carols and perform old rituals.