Each summer, thousands of people on horseback and foot flock to southern Spain, a celebration of Pentecost called the Pilgrimage of Rocío.
Photograph by José Antonio Zamora, National Geographic Your ShotAn newly baptised baby's godmother and female relatives work together to bathe it in hopes of ensuring a life of health, wealth, joy, and wisdom.
Photograph by Marian Plaino, National Geographic Your ShotIn Jerusalem, a rabbi blesses a 13-year-old boy celebrating his bar mitzvah, the ceremony wherein he takes on the responsibilities of an adult Jewish man. In the background, sunlight hits the golden roof of the Dome of the Rock, a medieval Islamic shrine constructed on the Temple Mount, where the Jewish Temples once stood.
Photograph by Dafna Ben Num, National Geographic Your ShotDuring the "Mahal na Senyor" procession in Lucban, hundreds of Catholic devotees carry an image of the dead Jesus Christ to and from the church to celebrate Good Friday.
Photograph by Benjo Salvatierra, National Geographic Your ShotOnce a year, the tiny village of Koovagam transforms: Transgender people from all over India, normally shunned as taboo, gather to join locals in celebrating an 18-day festival.
Photograph by Kartik Kumar S, National Geographic Your ShotIn a Buddhist temple hall in Fukushima, men—naked except for loincloths—cleanse themselves in cold water before climbing a rope to the ceiling in a prayer for good health and the area's continued recovery from a 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster.
Photograph by Teruo Araya, National Geographic Your ShotCatalonia's UNESCO-recognised castell festivals require teamwork, strength, and skill to construct human towers sometimes nine or ten stories high. This man's job is to help reinforce the tower's base.
Photograph by Matthew Phillis, National Geographic Your ShotOn Good Friday, a magdarame penitent prays for strength before a day of self-flagellation in direct response to Jesus's suffering before the crucifixion.
Photograph by Joserl Rabe, National Geographic Your ShotEvery evening, residents of Varanasi perform Ganga Aarti, a ceremony to honour the Ganges River. People from across India make a pilgrimage to the ceremony at least once in their lifetime.
Photograph by Luís Godinho, National Geographic Your ShotAt the Bun Bang Fai festival in Vang Vieng, a homemade rocket competition encourages the rains to come and begin the wet season.
Photograph by Sara Gobets, National Geographic Your ShotGraduates from Colorado Springs' Air Force Academy toss their hats in celebration as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform a fly-over.
Photograph by AJ Lee, National Geographic Your ShotSt. John's Day (Jaanipäev) and St. John's Eve (Jaanilaupäev), celebrated with bonfires a few days after the summer solstice, mark an especially important time in the Estonian calendar.
Photograph by Kristoffer Vaikla, National Geographic Your ShotThis couple celebrates their anniversary by donning their wedding outfits in a new place each year. The base camp at Mount Everest witnessed their fifth anniversary.
Photograph by Rob Devaun, National Geographic Your ShotHockey players continue their game into the evening as fog shrouds the patch of ice they've scraped out on the frozen surface of a lake in British Columbia.
Photograph by Warren K Lowe, National Geographic Your ShotEvery morning, hundreds of Shanghai residents gather on the historic waterfront to pratise the traditional Chinese martial art of taiji (tai chi).
Photograph by Attila Balogh, National Geographic Your ShotThousands of Buddhist men and women pray for peace and prosperity for all of humanity during the gruelling "Gochak" ritual. The pilgrims prostrate themselves after every step of a wintry, mountainous journey that lasts two weeks and over sixty miles.
Photograph by Prasun Mitra, National Geographic Your ShotThe weeklong Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, sees Zulu girls and women from all over the country gather in the town of Mbabane to pay homage to the royal family by using reeds to repair the royal house. It is common for the king to choose a new wife from the many young women who attend the ceremony.
Before the annual Prince's Day parade, the Ere Escort Cavalry practise on Scheveningen Beach, accompanied by practice ammunition, smoke bombs, and a crowd encouraged to make as much noise as possible.
Photograph by Vermaat, National Geographic Your ShotOne day every August, people in Pozzuoli compete to see who can retrieve the most flags from the end of poles made slippery with soap and suspended over the sea.
Reenacting the soldiers who served a village's protecting gods, these men mud wrestle with a wooden ball in a centuries-old festival.
Photograph by Phuong Tran, National Geographic Your ShotPresident-elect Donald J. Trump stands on the platform of the Capitol Building during the January 2017 inauguration, a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year presidential term.
Photograph by Marianique Santos, National Geographic Your ShotPyongyang's Arirang Mass Games is a 120,000 performer-strong spectacle of gymnastic choreography in one of the biggest sport arenas in the world.
Photograph by Christian Åslund, National Geographic Your ShotIn Huntington Beach, surfers gather for a "paddle out", a tradition honouring the life of a fellow surfer who has passed away. Here, participants splash the water in unison and cheer the name of the deceased person, a young local who died in a car accident.
Photograph by Jennifer W., National Geographic Your ShotMundan, or shaving the head, is one of the most prominent Hindu traditions practiced after a death in the family. The ritual symbolises the purification of soul and body, preparing the bereaved person to take up the responsibilities left by the deceased—here, a man mourning his mother.
Photograph by Sutapa Roy, National Geographic Your ShotThe photographer celebrates an afternoon tea with her 85-year-old father, who is beginning to suffer memory problems. "It's a simple tradition, but one that means the world to me," she says.
Photograph by Carole Mills Noronha, National Geographic Your Shot