Sauris is a small village with the perfume of the mountains; in the winter, the snow comes. Sauris is surrounded by magnificent woods which provide the wood for making furniture and for 22 masks. Yes indeed, because the Sauris Carnival is one of the oldest in Italy. It is celebrated in according with an ancient tradition, on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday.

Every year, the little ones can’t wait for the children’s carnival, which begins in the afternoon of the Friday with a parade starting from the Pista in Sauris di Sotto.

The next day, the whole village gets ready for Der Zahrar Voschankh, the Carnival of Sauris. While the locals and tourists gather in the square of Sauris di Sopra, the diabolic Rölar prowls about the village streets and shakes the bells he carries around his waist to announce the start of the celebrations, but he’ll grab any chance to steal a fritter or two. With his soot-covered face and dark clothes, Rölar used to frighten the local children in the past, but now they challenge him to chase after them.

Meanwhile, Kheirar has arrived in the square. He wears a wooden mask and threadbare clothes and carries a broom to sweep away the winter and make way for spring. In the past, Kheirar and his retinue of masked, dancing friends went from house to house; times have changed and now the king of the maskers and his followers go around the cafés in the village.

Then the members of a jury judge the maskers, saying which is the best or the ugliest according to their point of view, then everyone heads off to the snowy woods, where you’ll have the opportunity to put your physical abilities to the test. Meanwhile, dusk draws near and it’s better to light the lamps: this signals the start of the famous Night of Lanterns. The celebrations continue with just an occasional break for a glass of mulled wine and a fritter before everyone gathers around the great bonfire.

By now it’s dinnertime and we all head back to Sauris di Sotto for a meal in good company, with a menu of soups, sausages and sweet things, but the night is still young and there’s plenty of time for dancing and playing music between one glass of wine and the next.