Paganism, Humor Rule In Vevcani Carnival

The village of Vevcani lies at the foot of the Jablanica mountain range, some 170 kilometers from the Macedonian capital, Skopje. But it might as well be the moon each January.

Most sources suggest the event dates back at least 1,400 years.

Irreverence rules the day...

...and ​participants are encouraged to let loose.

But there's room for "cute," too.

Participants take the pagan elements to heart, ditching the region's deep-rooted Orthodox Christianity for the two-day affair.

The parade is the highlight, but the carnival turns the streets of the village into a free-for-all of improvisation that runs right through the night.

"Augustine the Fool" is one of three "official" kinds of mask in the festivities, the others being a bride or groom and a musician.

Parades have included astronauts, "Augustine the Fool," multiple Santa Clauses, and...frozen peasants?

Anything's fair game for ridicule, including Santa Claus and his reindeer.

Masked revelers "have unlimited creative freedom for 'rapture' and to 'turn the world upside-down' in the spirit of improvisation, criticism, and irony," organizers say.