People walk throw the Damascus gate during the Jerusalem Festival of Lights on June 15, 2011 at Jerusalem's Old City, Israel. The festival opened on Wednesday night and will run for a week in the Old City of Jerusalem, hosting Israeli and international artists and creators who will display their installations throughout the week. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Yulin, a city in southern China, celebrates the summer solstice by throwing a festival that involves the slaughter and consumption of as many as 10,000 dogs. Not everyone in China supports such practices, however; 65-year-old Yang Xiaoyun, a retired teacher who runs an animal shelter in Tianjin, traveled more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and spent more than 7,000 yuan ($1,100 or €990) to save 100 dogs from certain death.

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)

“The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water upon others. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns. In addition, many Thais will have small bowls of beige colored talc sold cheaply and mixed with water which is then smeared on the faces and bodies of random passerbys as a blessing for the new year” – Wikipedia. (Photo by Seua Yai)

A Hindu villager rides a motorcycle past an altar ahead of the annual Kasada festival at the Mount Bromo in Indonesia's East Java province, July 30, 2015. The Kasada festival will be held on August 1, when the worshippers throw offerings such as livestock and other crops into the volcanic crater of Mount Bromo to give thanks to the Hindu gods for ensuring their safety and prosperity. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

Voodoo pilgrims bathe in a waterfall believed to have purifying powers during the annual celebration in Saut d' Eau, Haiti, Saturday, July 16, 2016. Annually, the falls are the site of a large, important religious pilgrimage, during the festival of Our Lady of Carmel, from July 14–16. A Eucharistic rite is held during the festival, as well as various vodou rituals, but the penultimate devotional activity is bathing in the waters of the falls, and asking favors of the Virgin or Erzulie. After bathing, voodoo pilgrims throw away the dresses they wore to the site, and don new clothes for good luck. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

Yokozuna-ranked sumo wrestler Hakuho of Mongolia (top) throws Goeido of Japan during their bout on the final day of the 15-day Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka on November 26, 2017. Mongolian grand champion Hakuho won the latest sumo tournament on November 25 as Japan's national sport continued to draw media attention after another top wrestler faced a police probe into an alleged assault. He won the 15-day tournament at 13-1 by Saturday with one day remaining as his closest contenders were all defeated at 11-3 before his bout on the day. (Photo by AFP Photo/JIJI Press)