How Croatia bans winter

4 min read

It’s all bloom…and doom!
The freshness of spring is already in the air by February in the hilltop villages in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County of western Croatia, located in the hilly hinterland near the Slovenian border, where a riotous noise approaches, with a cavalcade of bell-ringing, music, and screaming.
In a magical ritual, an army of men in grotesque animal masks dance, draped in sheepskins, armed with axes and clubs.
They huddle into a concentric circle and shake their rumps, clattering hundreds of cowbells in unison, orchestrated by a flashy commander, the komandante, in an all-white uniform and golden epaulets.
Meanwhile, a devil clad in black dances on a rooftop, while a man dressed as a bear terrorizes locals, soundtracked by the happy chaos of a brass band.

Don’t worry, this is only the annual Habuje Zvončari, literally bell ringers, procession, a pre-Christian wonderful tradition that’s endured for hundreds of years in the Kastav region of Croatia.
And for many towns, it’s time to let the wild rumpus begin!
The herd roams from village to village for days, terrorizing locals with noise and hijinks till the bystanders offer up donations of food and wine.
Afterwards, the Zvonarciy rampage onto the next town to do it all over again.
The bell-ringing continues until Ash Wednesday, when they burn a symbolic figure called Pust, setting alight all the metaphorical misgivings of the past year and giving rise to fresh beginnings.
In Pagan times, this performance was supposed to awaken the fertility gods during the dour winter months, scare away evil spirits, and protect livestock from any curses levied against them., even if there are also alternative theories about the Zvončari’s origina.
In fact, it seems during an invasion by the Ottomans in the Middle Ages, the Turks camped nearby in a karst field known as Grobničko polje. Terrified locals didn’t know how to respond, so blanketed by night, they wrapped themselves in sheepskins and the bells they used for tracking livestock and walked triumphantly towards the field of invaders. When the Turks saw them, they got scared and fled—according to the legend.
The eerier, the better!

Actually on modern times, the jolly dancing and yelling is a commemoration of ancient customs, and the Shrovetide celebrations culminate in Rijeka’s city carnival, one of the largest in Europe, which showcases the various bell ringers from different regions as part of its colorful parade.
The oversized costumes are what bring the event to life, featuring giant, menacing animal heads stare at the crowd with lifeless black eyes.
Each mask represents an animal, with elements of a wolf, a fox, or a wild boar and with everyone adding their element.
It was once just plain leather with two holes for eyes, a corn cob for a nose, and a hole for the mouth, but the eerier, the better, has always been the central guiding principle behind their design.

However, like with many ancient Pagan celebrations, the Zvončari have weathered attempted erasure by the spread of Christianity and disapproving church leaders.
Historically, after World War I, Kastavština was divided in two: the west under Italian rule, and the east was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
And the Italians effectively banned mask-wearing, not allowing the Zvončari to cover their faces, so these bell ringers made hats with flowers and asparagus, with their faces uncovered.
After World War II, the Yugoslavian system after 1945 didn’t approve, but the tradition stayed alive, and thanks to locals, this tradition has endured wars, invasions, and different regimes.
Still today the Zvončari treat the ritual with a great seriousness and, despite knocking back rakia, a potent Croatian brandy, at 8 a.m., they volunteer to carry out these heavyweight duties, walking over 12 miles (20 kilometers) a day for six days, festooned with animal hides and heavy brass bells.
The whole equipment weighs about 20 kilograms, and the bells have a volume of 10 liters!
But, despite the karnival embraces an “anything-goes” atmosphere, it also represents a time of renewal and, after giving into the excesses of the festival with its wild dancing, pyre burning, eating, drinking, and screaming, the darker days of winter are gone and everyone returns to the comforts of their homes, ready for the promise of new beginnings.