Nepalese women performs ritual as they take a holy bath in the Bagmati River, during the Rishi Panchami festival, in Kathmandu, Nepal September 18, 2015. Rishi Panchami is observed on the last day of Teej when women worship Sapta Rishi (Seven Saints) to ask for forgiveness for sins committed during their menstrual periods throughout the year. The Hindu religion considers menstruation as a representation of impurity and women are prohibited from taking part in religious practices during their monthly menstruations. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A Hindu devotee lies on a road as the holy “Rath”, or the chariot of lord Jagannath, passed over her during the Rath Yatra, or chariot procession in Karachi, Pakistan, July 17, 2016. Ratha-jatra is derived from two Odia words ratha/rotho meaning “chariot” and jatra meaning “journey”. The festival involves an annual procession (journey) of a deity's idols. Other names for the festival include ratha jatra or chariot festival. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A Russian Orthodox believers dips in the icy water during a traditional Epiphany celebration in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. The temperature in St. Petersburg is –1C (30F). (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A young woman shows off her henna tattoos at the end of Eid al-Fitr prayers in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Members of the Romanian Muslim community joined prayers at the Dinamo stadium in the Romanian capital, in the largest Muslim public gathering of the year. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

Shortlisted images in the running to be crowned Photobox Instagram photograph of the year range from furry friends to the Holi festival to the meaning of love. Judges, including the Guardian’s former picture editor Eamonn McCabe, have whittled down 180,000 submissions to unearth a shortlist that celebrates the best of social media. Winners will be announced October 3, 2018. Here: Najac, France. Travel shortlist. (Photo by Aaron Jenkin/@aaronjenkin)

Ultra Orthodox Jewish men watch a bonfire during the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba-Omer in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood April 27, 2013. Israelis celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba-Omer, which marks the end of a plague in the Middle Ages that killed thousands of disciples of a revered rabbi in the holy land, by lighting bonfires across the country. (Photo by Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Palestinians and Israelis enjoy the Mediterranean sea during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, August 8, 2013. The three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. One of the most important holidays in the Muslim world, Eid al-Fitr, is marked with prayers, family reunions and other festivities. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

A devotee takes a holy bath in River Saali in Sankhu on the first day of Swasthani Brata Katha festival in Kathmandu January 5, 2015. During the month long festival, devotees recite one chapter of a Hindu tale daily from the 31-chapter sacred Swasthani Brata Katha book that is dedicated to God Madhavnarayan and Goddess Swasthani, alongside various other gods and goddess and the miraculous feats performed by them. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)