North Macedonian revellers dress in fun costumes to chase off 'winter spirits' at carnival

Villagers in Vevcani, North Macedonia, celebrate the 1,400-year-old carnival with colorful costumes and masks to drive away winter spirits and welcome the Orthodox New Year.

Reuters

14 January 2026 at 12:54:51

A reveller participates in a parade during a carnival to mark the annual Orthodox St. Vasilij Day, the beginning of the Orthodox New Year, in the village of Vevcani, North Macedonia, January 13, 2026.

Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters

Revellers dressed in an eclectic selection of masks and costumes danced through the streets of the North Macedonian village of Vevcani on Tuesday (January 13) in an annual carnival that marks the beginning of the Orthodox New Year.

The participants - in costumes ranging from the creepy to the irreverent - paraded through the streets in a long tradition thought to also chase off the spirits of winter.

The history of Vevcani's carnival stretches back 1400 years but the modern incarnation of the celebration sees costumes inspired by pop culture or satirical re-enactments of current affairs.

Visitor Arbnora Memeti described the carnival as "special and unique," saying it provided "a retrospective of all social and political events that have happened over the years."

The Vevcani carnival is part of a broader tradition across mountainous areas of North Macedonia and Bulgaria, where noisy January celebrations are traditionally believed to help bid farewell to the old year and winter spirits.

Production: Ognien Teofilovski, Malgorzata Wojtunik/Reuters