[rev_slider alias=”batle”]

Each year on December 31st there’s a fight in Ruginoasa, Iasi (Romania) whit about 100 youngs split in two “armies”: Deleni and Vălenii. each one with 5 feet long wooden bats try to crack their heads.

The meaning is lost in the past, but according to tradition, those who show they are stronger company earns most beautiful girls in the village and respect for the losers.

The night before the fight, the teams gather (in separate places) to drink and eat until the morning, when they start preparing for the fight. The most important accessory is the mask, which it’s composed of several layers in order to protect the heads as much as possible.

They are accompanied by up to 2000 other people, and sometimes the parents of the fighting youngs approach to give advices and since they don’t wear protection they get injured.

After the winners chase away the defeated group by tapping with their clubs onto the ground, they celebrate their victory of the fight drinking beer and getting drunk.

In the past the fight ended before noon or when there were too many injured fighters, whichever came first. However, due to being part of EU now, authorities tried to stop it every year because of the violence, with no success anyway.