A woman carries a stone cross in a cemetery in the village of Copaciu, southern Romania, on May 2, 2013. As part of a Holy Week tradition, Romanians visit, on Maundy Thursday, the graves of their loved ones, light fires and share food with community members in memory of the departed. Orthodox worshipers celebrate Easter on May 5. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/ Mediafax)

Matachines dancers participate in a religious festival in Saltillo, Mexico, April 17, 2016. Matachines dancing is a masked dance introduced by Spanish missionaries, and has been adopted by cultures from Peru to northern Mexico. It is performed to show respect to Mother Mary or the Guadalupe Virgin, a saint, or to simply worship God. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

A Pakistani Hindu woman lights candles during Diwali celebrations at a local temple in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, November 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism's most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (Photo by K. M. Chaudary/AP Photo)

A woman struggles to drink homemade alcohol poured from the mouth of an idol of “Swet Bhairab” during the annual Indra Jatra festival to worship Indra, Kumari and other deities and to mark the end of monsoon season in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 15, 2019. (Photo by Monika Deupala/Reuters)

A Nepalese mother applies make up to her daughter dressed as the living goddess Kumari as they wait for Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, September 14, 2016. Girls under the age of nine gathered for the Kumari puja, a tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in the Newar community that seeks divine blessings to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

An aerial view taken on September 11, 2020 shows the Buddhist temple Wat Samphran (Dragon Temple) in Nakhon Pathom, some 40km west of Bangkok. Wat Samphran is a popular tourist destination with visitors coming to see the huge dragon figure curling around a pink cylindrical building next to the Buddha statues and places of worship of the traditional Buddhist temple complex. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A girl adorned as a Living Goddess smiles as she takes part in a mass Kumari Puja prayer rituals during Indra Jatra festival in Kathmandu, Nepal on Friday, September 5, 2025. Hundreds of young girls under the age of nine gathered around the temple to offer worship for good luck, protection from evil and prevent from diseases. (Photo by Skanda Gautam/ZUMA Press Wire via Alamy Live News)

Young girls pose for a photo during the Kumari Puja Ritual on the 9th day of the Durga puja festival at a Pandal (Temporary place for worship) in Kolkata on October 4, 2022. Kumari Puja is an Indian Hindu Tradition mainly celebrated during the Durga Puja according to the Hindu Calendar. The philosophical basis of Kumari Puja is to establish the value of women. Devotees believe it will overcome all barriers, dangers for the young girls in the coming future and also, they will be empowered to handle any stress and obstruction in their coming life. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)