Early afternoon on January 2nd in Hallwyl, Canton Argyll. Figures in masks and shaggy costumes run around the village hugging people and playing mischief. Their favorite targets?
Women. It's hard and hard, and you have to make sure you get off the ground. It's just good and awesome!
It brings luck. It's always warm. All together, there are 15 strong and uninhibited young men under the costumes, which can weigh up to 60 kilos.
The brown and dry characters represent winter and death, the green leafy ones spring and new life. The origin of the custom is obscure, but it certainly has to do with Germanic traditions and fertility rituals. For the unmarried men in the village, it is a great honour to impersonate these characters, called Berzeli.
You must be fit, single and a member of an association. I'm, for instance, a fireman in the sports club. The joyful event goes on all afternoon, and it ends late in the local pubs.