The annual Las Luminarias festival takes place in San Bartolome de Pinares in Spain. The festival dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come.

Axar.az reports citing Russian media.

The horses are doused with water just before they enter the flames.

People ride their horses past a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain.

On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, dozens ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the annual Luminarias festival.

This tradition dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come.