Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste (south of France): “Fête de l’ours” (Bear Festival), February 19, 2023

Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste (south of France): every year in February, the village celebrates the “Fête de l’ours” (Bear Festival) or “Festa de l’os”, one of the oldest rites in Europe. The Bear Hunt, a rite of passage from wild man to civilised man. sheep skins are worn by three young men who will play the bears and their faces and hands are blackened with a mixture of soot and oil. This ancestral practice is a living testimony of the local culture and its history. (Photo by:Lacombe L/Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)