Romanian villagers have burned used tires and lit fires in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual that marks the beginning of Orthodox Lent.
About 30 young residents gathered on a hill outside the village of Poplaca in the foothills of the Cindrel mountains, Sunday evening for the annual ‘Clean Monday’ ritual, which is designed to ward off evil spirits before the onset of Lent on Monday.
As night fell, teenagers spun around flaming old car tires attached to metal chains, and yelled the names of unmarried and divorced people in the community, in the hope of bringing them a partner. Children, some with faces blackened from the tires and soot, jumped over the tires.
Villagers ate bacon fat and zacusca, a bottled vegetable relish, to keep warm during the festivities in the village, about 315 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Bucharest.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on May 1 this year, five weeks later than Western Christians. Monday marks the beginning of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.
Clean Monday, also known as Pure Monday and Ash Monday traditionally begins on Sunday evening, and is seen as a the last opportunity for culinary excess and partying before Lent begins.
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man jumps over a fire during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. Romanian villagers set light to piles of used tires and lit fires in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual that marks the beginning of Orthodox Lent before Easter. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, youngsters keep warm by a fire during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, young men look up as two old car tires nearly collide in mid-air, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man spins a flaming old car tire on a metal chain, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young boy relaxes on a pile of old car tires, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man stands near an old car tire set on fire, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young boy grimaces inside a pile of old car tires, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man spins a flaming old car tire on a metal chain, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man spins a flaming old car tire on a metal chain, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March. 13, 2016, a young man spins a flaming old car tire on a metal chain, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man spins a flaming old car tire on a metal chain, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man spins a flaming old car tire on a metal chain, during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In this picture taken on Sunday, March 13, 2016, a young man relaxes next to burning old car tiers during a celebration marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church calendar, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, Sibiu county, in the central Romanian Transylvania region. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
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