Flocks of seagulls swarm small fishing boats in the first decade of January 2024 like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Colonies of Heuglin’s gulls can be seen almost every morning on the Yamuna River in Delhi, India. (Photo by Raghav Rai Ralhan/Solent News)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood the morning after an attack amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 2, 2024. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.

People walk under stands with balloons placed along the former Berlin Wall location at Mauerpark, which will be used in the installation “Lichtgrenze” (Border of Light) in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin will be temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Photo by Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters)

A light installation called “Run Beyond” by Angelo Bonello is seen on the launch day of the Light Festival at Battersea Power station on January 13, 2022 in London, England. Running from January 13 to February 27, the curated collection of installations includes work by six artists, with two displays making their UK exhibition debut. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Four-year-old Riley Gillet, of Orlando, lights a candle with her family, marking the beginning of the traditional Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, during the Chabad of Greater Orlando's “Chanukah on the Park” celebration in Winter Park, Fla., late Sunday, November 28, 2021. Held at Central Park, the event included the lighting of a giant menorah, live performers, music and dancing. Jews worldwide will celebrate Hanukkah through Dec. 6. (Photo by Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP Photo)

Pedestrians and vehicles make their way past the Potala Palace early on a rainy morning in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, Saturday, September 19, 2015. Chinese officials have taken foreign journalists on a visit to the region, normally off-limits to them, weeks after Communist Party officials commemorated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo by Aritz Parra/AP Photo)

India's Border Security Force (BSF) “Daredevils” motorcycle riders perform during a rehearsal for the Republic Day parade on a foggy winter morning in New Delhi January 8, 2015. India will celebrate its annual Republic Day on January 26. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)