Martin's Day at the Open-Air Museum

Since the autumn equinox, there is less and less light, while the nights grow longer. Gradually, farm work winds down, and when Martin's Day arrives, the farmer's homestead celebrates the threshing feast, when the grain must not only be cut and gathered under cover, but also threshed, with the kernels poured into the barn's granaries. The harvest has been brought in, the herding season ends, and summer is over. The dark autumn evenings are the perfect time to tell and listen to fairy tales, legends, old tales, and riddles, to disguise oneself and go in mask processions. For winter, livestock was slaughtered, and the grain was stored in the barn's granaries.

The autumn period is characterized by anthropomorphic, human-like masks. As Christmas approaches, other figures appear in the mask processions, depicting animals and birds (bear, goat, billy goat, wolf, horse, crane), objects (flour sieve, broom, basket, etc.), people of different professions and nationalities (Gypsy, Jew, priest, old soldier, doctor, musician, beggar, etc.), and mythical beings (for example, Death, the Devil, a Ghost, the Tall Woman, and the Little Man). Shrovetide is the last annual festival, marking the end of the masking season.

The festival program will include a lively Martin's Day mask procession, traditional songs, folk games, dances, creative workshops, and blacksmith demonstrations, as well as a market where visitors will be able to buy handicrafts and locally produced food products. Visitors are warmly invited to come in traditional masks, but there will also be an opportunity to make your own mask during the event.