Who are these people in the creepy masks? It's Шорыкйол among the Mari, a week-long celebration that could be translated as 'the holiday of the the sheep's leg'. It is designated to take account of the previous year, and welcome the new one. Started on 7 January, last till 14th.

Traditionally, these masked people are a "committee" appointed that goes from house to house singing songs and такмак-влак (chastushki, short humorous rhymes) and asks to be entertained. They are led by Васли кугыза and Васли Кува (Uncle and Aunt Vasili).

They are given a feast and in exchange they check if the household was kept in order and well-managed. In the film made by Aljona Ivanova the landlady mentions she barely slept to stay on top of everything, gaining acclaim from her guests.

There are a few traditions in addition to the "ritual checking": every family raises heaps of snow in order to ensure good harvest the coming year.

Another is predicting the husband of unmarried girls: in the evening, they enter the sheep shed and try to catch sheep in the dark. Whatever the sheep is like (old, young, healthy, ill), that's what the girl's husband will be like.

There's a lot of additional games and traditions and predictions associated with Шорыкйол, often varying by region. Of course it is no longer celebrated everywhere but it keeps being an integral part of Mari folklore, and in the same time, one of the most fun festivities.

Although it's hard to get enoug of these creepy faces. :)