Junior Lambrechts has his face painted in preparation for the Cape Minstrel Carnival in Cape Town, South Africa on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Shelley Christians/Reuters)

A devotee participates in Holi celebrations at the Nandagram temple, on March 22, 2013. (Photo by Manish Swarup/Associated Press)

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)

Women react after a deadly blaze in the early hours of the morning, in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 31, 2023. (Photo by Shiraaz Mohamed/Reuters)

Competitors gather backstage as they prepare to take part in the All Ireland Irish Dancing Championships on November 2, 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The championships take place at the Waterfront Hall over the course of six days with winners qualifying for the World Irish Dancing Finals which will take place in Dublin next year. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

“Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges river. The normal Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag, the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years, at four places (Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik). The Maha (great) Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 “Purna Kumbh Melas”, or 144 years, is held at Allahabad.

The last Ardh Kumbh Mela was held over a period of 45 days beginning in January 2007, more than 70 million Hindu pilgrims took part in the Ardh Kumbh Mela at Prayag, and on January 15, the most auspicious day of the festival of Makar Sankranti, more than 5 million participated. The previous Maha Kumbh Mela, held in 2001, was attended by around 60 million people, making it at the time the largest gathering anywhere in the world in recorded history”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Sadhus (holy men) smoke at their camp near the ritual site at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers during the Ardh Kumbh Mela festival (Half Pitcher festival) January 18, 2007 in Allahabad, India. Millions of Hindu pilgrims have flocked to the largest religious gathering in the world which lasts for 45 days in northern India. The festival commemorates the mythical conflict between gods and demons over a pitcher filled with the “nectar of immortality”. Devotees believe that taking a holy dip in the Ganges at this time washes away their sins and paves the path to salvation. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A woman (C) shops for an offering at the witch doctor's street in La Paz, July 31, 2015. According to Andean culture, the all the month of August is a time to give offerings to “Pachamama” to give thanks for their farms and health. The Aymaras use coca leaves, candies, animal fat, llama fetuses, some dried fruits, powdered minerals and alcohol during these rituals. (Photo by David Mercado/Reuters)