"Old Men" dance at the Monastery of St. George, above Skyros

SKYROS ISLAND, SKYROS, EVIA, GREECE - 2018/02/17: "Old Men" dance at the Monastery of St. George, above Skyros's old town (Chora). he Old Man (Geros) is the main figure of the Carnival celebration (Apokries) in the island of Skyros, Greece. As the story goes, hundreds of years ago a shepherd lost his entire herd during a rough winter. His desperation drove him crazy. He hung the bells form every one of his dead animals around his waist and danced in the streets. The Skyrian people who dress these days in the Old Man costume describe a mystical experience. As they say, the continual motion, the sound of the bells, and the hot, thick smell of the animal skin costume mixed with the human sweat bring the participant to a state of ecstasy. The Carnival season in Greece lasts a month, and its final day is exactly forty days before Easter. (Photo by Dimitrios Manis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)