Lithuanian Song Celebration (Song and Dance Festival) 90th anniversary, Vilnius, Lithuania (6 July 2014). Pictured here, Song Day in Vingis Park, Vilnius – where massed choirs numbering some 12,000 people sing with one voice. Without any doubt, one of the most beautiful and moving things I’ve ever seen or heard. The Song Celebration in Vilnius …
Binche Carnival, Binche, Belgium (4 March 2014). On Shrove Tuesday, the local Gilles parade through the centre of town. This is the only day of the year when the Gilles wear their elaborate costumes, including brightly decorated shirts and trousers (the shirt is stuffed with straw), and wooden clogs. Preparations begin around 3am, with guests …
Doudou (Ducasse de Mons), Mons, Belgium (14 June 2014). The Doudou is a traditional festival held in the town of Mons, on the weekend of Trinity Sunday, in which a large, elaborately decorated gold casket said to contain the relics of St Waudru is paraded through the town, and culminating in the ritual combat with, …
Procession of the Ljelje in the village of Gorjani, near Đakovo, Slavonia, Croatia (8 June 2014). Each year on Whitsun young unmarried women and girls from the village of Gorjani dress in traditional costumes, and following mass go in procession from house to house in the village, singing and dancing for their hosts. The women …
Radenka Jungić working on a piece of Zmijanje embroidery in her gallery shop in Banja Luka, Bosnia (11 April 2014). Zmijanje embroidery (Zmijanski vez) is a distinctive style of embroidery unique to this region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is due to be inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in October 2014. …