The Buso Festival
In Hungary today starts a 6 day long festival, called the "Busojaras". This old tradition started in 1687 in a village called Mohacs. The idea is that the men (The Busos) wearing devil like horned wooden masks, sheepskin costumes, march around town making noise with cowbells and rattles to scare away winter. Their helpers the "Jankele" are groups of children roaming the streets dressed in rags and wearing stockings for masks. End of the festivities the celebration concentrate around a huge bonfire usually in the main square of towns, where a coffin symbolizing winter is burned, while the Busos dance around in a circle, making an even bigger racket, just to make sure winter will definitely not come back.
I think we should start inventing our own Minnesota "winter chaser" tradition. The Buso could find good employment in a place like Minnesota!