Romanian Romas celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary

The Roma community in Romania celebrates the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Costesti, Romania. Thousands of Gypsies or Roma gather on a hillside after attending a religious service in a nearby monastery and celebrate the holiday by sharing food and playing traditional music until the next dawn. The feast day of the Assumption of Mary, or simply Assumption Day or St Mary’s Day, is one of the most important feasts in the Orthodox Christian calendar. --Thea Breite (11 photos total)

A vendor sells balloons as the Roma community celebrates the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Romanian Roma girls run as the Roma community celebrates the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

The sun rays are filtered through smoke in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

Roma people sit in the shade waiting for customers for their fur coats in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

Roma children jump on a trampoline on the feast day of the Assumption of Mary in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

A Romanian Roma girl dances during the annual meeting of Roma during the St Mary celebration in Costesti, Romania, on September 8, 2014. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP) #

A Roma child waits in line to pass under a table, part of a local tradition, during a religious service at the Bistrita Monastery in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

People pass by icons during a religious service at the Bistrita Monastery in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP) #

A woman passes under a table, part of a local tradition at the Bistrita Monastery in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

A little girl wears golden coins after the religious service celebrating the Birth of the Virgin Mary at the Bistrita Monastery in Costesti, Romania, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #

A man makes the sign of the cross after the service. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) #