Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

An Ultra-orthodox Jewish man holds chickens during the Kaparot ceremony in the Mea Shearim Ultra Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem on Sept. 13, 2010. The ritual is supposed to transfer the sins of the past year to the chicken. It is performed before the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, the most important day in the Jewish calendar.

Kaparot: an ancient and mystical custom

The orthodox Jewish ceremony involves taking a white chicken and waving it over a person's head while a prayer is recited, "This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This chicken will go to its death while I will enter and proceed to a good long life and peace." The chicken is then slaughtered, and it is given to the poor.

Most Jews today perform the Kaparot by waving money that's been wrapped in a white cloth over their head, reciting the prayer and then donating the money to charity.

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