These kaleidoscopic images showcase the sheer beauty of the mammoth firework displays held across Japan every summer. The Japanese word for fireworks, hanabi, means fire flower, and each year, local governments in Japan throw around 7,000 festivals, or hanabi taikai. Here: Tsuchiura National Fireworks Competition, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture. (Photo by Makoto Igari/Caters News Agency)

An Israeli boy swims next to sheep belonging to a Palestinian farmer in the West Bank village of Al-Auja in the Jordan Valley on April 8, 2015 during the Jewish Passover holiday. Thousands of Israelis spent the day outdoors, picnicking and touring the country during the eight-day Passover holiday, which commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt some 3,500 years ago. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

A woman surveys the damage after the earthquake on March 17, 2011 in Kensennuma, Japan. Residents were allowed back to their homes today and began the massive cleanup operation caused by a 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake that struck on March 11 off the coast of north-eastern Japan. The quake triggered a tsunami wave of up to 10 metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan. The death toll has risen past 5000 with at least 8600 people still missing. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Mount Sinabung is seen during an eruption from Surbakti village in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, April 20, 2015. The local government is preparing the relocation of residents from three of the villages that were destroyed. (Photo by Tibta Pangin/Getty Images/Anadolu Agency)

Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Children play on an abandoned car near a protest, which is against the dissolution of Yemen's parliament and the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi militia's tightening grip on power, in the southwestern city of Taiz, February 13, 2015. (Photo by Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters)

A man braces his umbrella while walking through the snow on February 13, 2014 in New York City. Heavy snow and high winds made for a hard morning commute in the city. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Robert The Bruce's army from The Clanranald Trust during a rehearsal for the Battle of Bannockburn re-enactment performance which will be staged at the Bannockburn Live Event in Bannockburn, the 700th anniversary of the battle, on June 27, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)