We may not have believed it unless we’d seen it. But we live in Bulgaria, so we did, and we do! Hundreds of men and women dressed in sheepskins and cowbells, dancing and playing music, to ward off evil spirits and welcome nature back to life. There were elaborate costumes, bagpipes, drums, and barbecues sizzling with meat, corn, and pots of beans to feed the immense crowds of people. Every year the mummers, or “kukeri,” arrive in villages all over Bulgaria to celebrate this ancient ritual that goes back to Thracian times. We shivered in the cold and watched for three hours, but only scratched the surface of a line of dance groups that stretched a mile long. So very cool! Even our complaining teenagers stopped complaining for a little while….