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In Romania, hundreds dance in bear skins for festive ‘dancing bear festival’

Hundreds of people of all ages, clad in bear costumes, dance every year around Christmas to the deafening beat of drums and roam villages and towns

Sofia, 6 years-old, center, a members of a traditional bear pack takes part in a parade before performing in a festival in Moinesti, northern Romania, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023.
Sofia, 6 years-old, center, a members of a traditional bear pack takes part in a parade before performing in a festival in Moinesti, northern Romania, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023.Vadim Ghirda (AP)

Centuries ago, people in what is now northeastern Romania donned bear skins and danced to fend off evil spirits. That custom is today known as the Dancing Bears Festival, drawing crowds of tourists every December.

Hundreds of people of all ages, clad in bear costumes, dance every year around Christmas to the deafening beat of drums and roam villages and towns. The highlight of this year’s festival falls on Dec. 30, with bear-clad dancers descending on the town of Comanesti, in eastern Romania, for the finale.

Members of the Sipoteni bear pack perform a ritual dance in Racova, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
Members of the Sipoteni bear pack perform a ritual dance in Racova, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.Vadim Ghirda (AP)

Visitors come from as far as Japan to see the spectacle, featuring lines of people in costumes with gaping bear jaws and claws marching and dancing. Giant red pompom decorations are usually added to the furs. Some of the “bears” jokingly growl or pretend to attack the spectators.

Locals say the custom dates back to the pre-Christianity era, when people believed that wild animals staved off misfortune or danger. Dancing “bears” visited people’s homes and knocked on their doors to wish them good luck and a Happy New Year.

Members of the Sipoteni bear pack strike the final pose of their performance in Preluci, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, while touring village homes.
Members of the Sipoteni bear pack strike the final pose of their performance in Preluci, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, while touring village homes. Vadim Ghirda (AP)

“The bear runs through our veins, it is the spirit animal for those in our area,” said Costel Dascalu, who started taking part in the festival when he was 8. At the time, Romania was still under communist rule and the festival was relatively low-key.

“I want to keep the tradition alive,” the 46-year-old added. When the holiday season approaches, he joked, “our breath smells like bears, and we get goose bumps when we hear the sound of drums.”

Romanian gendarmes pose for a photograph with members of the Sipoteni bear pack after watching their performance in Racova, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
Romanian gendarmes pose for a photograph with members of the Sipoteni bear pack after watching their performance in Racova, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. Andreea Alexandru (AP)

Residents are happy that the tradition has lived on after many Romanians left the region in the 1990s to look for better jobs in Western Europe.

Brown bears are widely present in Romania’s traditions and culture, and the animals can often be seen by mountain roads and in forests. Excessive bear hunting prompted the authorities to issue a ban in 2016.

A member of the Sipoteni bear pack loads his costume on a bus, in Comanesti, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, before touring villages in the area to perform the bear dance ritual.
A member of the Sipoteni bear pack loads his costume on a bus, in Comanesti, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, before touring villages in the area to perform the bear dance ritual.Andreea Alexandru (AP)

Participants in the festival say most of the bear skins they use as costumes have been preserved for generations and treated with great care.

Wearing a full-sized bear fur isn’t easy: Including the head and claws, the costume could weigh up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds). The most expensive bear skins can cost some 2,000 euros ($2,200), according to local media.

A member of the Sipoteni bear pack sits on a bus in Racova, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, while touring villages to perform the bear dance ritual.
A member of the Sipoteni bear pack sits on a bus in Racova, northern Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, while touring villages to perform the bear dance ritual. Andreea Alexandru (AP)

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