Santa Lucia

Did you observe St. Lucy's Day?
My parents used to belong to a church with a penchant for Scandinavian culture, and December 13th is the only saints day they recognized. I used to love the white robes and candle-wreath, but it was a girls-only affair so I never got to wear a pointy wizard hat. These days I'm more interested in the pre-christian origins of the celebration.

Photo credits:

Stockholm Club Lucia Fest, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Herman Larson, 1932 (from the Minnesota Digital Library)

Female students dressed for Bethel's Festival of Christmas in St. Lucia costumes, St. Paul, Minnesota
Kurt Christenson, 1980 (from the Minnesota Digital Library)

Luciafeier in einer schwedischen Kirche
Claudia Gründer, 2006 (from Wikimedia Commons)

Mali Dancing - 1973

Dogon Dancers - Mali 1973
First and last images "dancer dressed as woman"
Photos by "Sills"
Source: Anthrophoto

Danza de los Voladores de Papantla

"A long drought covered the Earth so five men decided to send Xipe Totec, the God of fertility a message, asking them for the rain to return. They went to the forest and looked for the straightest tree, cut it, and took it back to their town. They removed all branches and placed it on the ground, then dressed themselves as feet/birds and descended flying attempting to grab their god's attention."

from Wikipedia