Lirhi3, Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Final set from the late-winter festival.

Once the solemnities of prayer for each other were over, the singing and dancing began, snowfall notwithstanding!  I kept my camera around my neck on its strap, covered with a plastic bag, lens hood shielding the lens from the snow - it was almost as cold as the air by now, so little if any snow was melting onto it.  And it performed flawlessly, as it always has in my experience.

"A good time was had by all."

Lirhi2, Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

More from this late-winter Ushuli festival.

Prayers with offerings of moonshine or wine and bread; the guy holding the bottle, centre, is doing the praying in a nice loud voice, for each family as they bring their food

A group prayer to start things off

Then a walk around the snow tower, singing Svan songs in harmony

Finally, some young boys ascend the tower, cling to the cross, and try to stay there while they're being bombarded with snow, as it was at the beginning

More photos from Lirhi tomorrow.  The best is yet to come.

Lirhi, Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Lirhi is a late-winter festival which I've now attended twice in a row.  First, a "tower" of snow is built.  Then one of the young men who was involved in this must plant a cross on its top, all the while getting pelted with shovelfuls of snow.  There's more to come from the cold, windy and snowy day which Lirhi gave us this year - lots of good fun, it was, in spite of the weather.