Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
An Orthodox priest blesses rifles during a ceremony where new recruits receive their weapons at a military base of the Belarusian Interior Ministry in Minsk on Jan. 23. The traditional ceremony was attended by 325 Belarusian recruits and it is held a month after the recruits take their military oath.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Robin Utrecht / EPA
Revelers dive collectively into the North Sea during the Nieuwjaarsduik, or New Year's dive in English, on New Year's Day in Scheveningen, in the Netherlands,on Jan.1, 2013.
David Moir / Reuters
Swimmers in fancy dress take to the water to participate in the New Year's Day Looney Dook swim at South Queensferry in Scotland Jan. 1, 2013.
Philippe Huguen / AFP - Getty Images
People take part in a traditional sea bath during the New Year's celebrations on January 1, 2013 at Malo-Les-Bains beach in Dunkirk, northern France.
Jean-christophe Bott / EPA
Revelers hold glasses of champagne while swimming in the chilly water during the annual swim in Lake Geneva, Switzerland, on New Year's day on Jan. 1, 2013.
David Moir / Reuters
A swimmer with his face painted as the flag of Scotland, reacts as he sits in the water during the New Year's Day Looney Dook swim at South Queensferry in Scotland Jan. 1, 2013.
Andrew Kelly / Reuters
A man dressed as a penguin enters the water while taking part in the Coney Island Polar Bear Club's annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim in New York's Coney Island Jan. 1, 2013. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the U.S and every New Years Day holds the winter plunge which attracts thousands of participants.
Damian Shaw / EPA
From Sydney to Siberia, revelers celebrate the arrival of a new year.
By Isolde Raftery, NBC News
As the blinking Waterford crystal ball dropped over Times Square at midnight, ushering in the new year, a peach dropped in Atlanta and an 80-pound MoonPie prepared to drop in Mobile, Ala. Noisemakers sounded, kissers kissed and those who knew the words sang, “Auld Lang Syne” and Frank Sinatra's version of "New York, New York."
Come morning, a brave few will strip down to their skivvies and run into nearby oceans and lakes for an invigorating polar bear dip. This, they say, in the name of resolution and renewal.
Happy New Year, America. Welcome to 2013. Click here to read more on this story.
People around the world kick off 2013 with a swim, dive or quick dip into icy waters. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
Women jump over a campfire during the Ivan Kupala festival in the town of Turov, Belarus on July 6, 2012.
The traditional Slavic festival of Kupala Night celebrates the summer solstice with overnight festivities. Kupala is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Russia on the Gregorian calendar of June 23 or 24. People sing and dance before jumping over campfires believed to purge sins and improve health.
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
A woman wears a wreath during the Ivan Kupala festival.
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
Belarusian girls float wreaths with candles as part of the Ivan Kupala festival.
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
Belarusians take part in the Kupala festival.
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
Belarusians take part in the Ivan Kupala festival.
Reuters
Men dressed as "La Befana", an imaginary old woman who is thought to bring gifts to children during the festival of Epiphany, row boats down the Grand Canal in Venice, on Jan. 6. The orthodox Christian holiday of Epiphany is observed as the date when the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus.
Marco Secchi / Getty Images
Two of the participants sail under Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal ahead of the 34th Befana Regata on Jan. 6 in Venice, Italy.
Marco Secchi / Getty Images
A participant of the Befana Regata helps launching a support boat ahead of the regata on Jan. 6 in Venice, Italy.
See how others celebrate Epiphany in PhotoBlog.
Jonathan Woods writes: Each year around Easter, a handful of Hungarians take part in a tradition dating back to 2nd century AD. Donning traditional garb, boys and girls take to the streets for what they call the "watering of the girls."
It's a fertility ritual from a pre-Christian time in Hungarian tribes, where boys throw buckets of water of young girls running past them.
Attila Kisbenedek / AFP - Getty Images
School girls in traditional clothes of the 'Matyo' minority prepare for traditional Easter celebrations on April 21.
Attila Kisbenedek / AFP - Getty Images
Local school girls, wearing the traditional clothes of the 'Matyo' minority, react as boys throw water on them east of Budapest on Thursday, April 21. Locals from northeast Hungary celebrate Easter with the traditional "watering of the girls," a fertility ritual rooted in Hungary's tribal pre-Christian past, going as far back as the second century AD.
Bela Szandelszky / AP
A bucket of water is poured onto a Matyo minority girl dressed in traditional clothing in Mezokovesd, central Hungary on April 21.
Attila Kisbenedek / AFP - Getty Images
Boys throw water on girls in Mezokovesd, east of Budapest, Hungary, on April 21.
In response to a comment below from Cassandra we took time to dig up some additional information on the Matyo people.
The most in-depth information we found was via a Hungarian folk art site.
Although the "watering of the girls" celebrations don't appear to be confined to one geographic region, The Matyo are said to be located in Northern Hungary in the settlements of Mezökövesd, and two smaller villages, Szentistván and Tard.
Folk Art Hungary says "The Matyo area is united and distinguished from the other settlements of the region by the colourful costumes and famous folklore art... Their lives are tightly interwoven with tradition... Mezökövesd earned its nationwide reputation based on its unique costumes and free-hand embroidery style."
Bela Szandelszky / AP
Matyo minority boys dressed in traditional clothing prepare for a Hungarian Easter tradition, when boys pour buckets of water on girls in Mezokovesd, central Hungary.
Toni Garriga / EPA
The world's biggest 'caganer' exhibited in a Barcelona mall in Catalonia, Spain on Thursday. The statue is six meters high. The 'caganer' is a Catalonian traditional Christmas decoration that dates to the eighteenth century, when it was believed that putting the figure in the Christmas Cribs would bring good luck and bring rich crops for the next year. Over the course of the time, the original character of the defecating peasant was replaced with personalities and famous people.
When Mish Whalen posted a collection of pictures of these statuettes here recently, I was surprised. When I saw this picture of a multi-story-tall poop statue in a mall at Christmas-time, I was flabbergasted.
Previously on Photoblog: Spanish Christmas tradition features feces of the famous
Statuettes (called caganers) of well-known people defecating are a strong Christmas tradition in Catalonia, Spain dating back to the 18th century as Catalonians hide them in Christmas Nativity scenes and invite friends to find them. The figures symbolize fertilization, hope and prosperity for the coming year.
See more caganers below and more on this interesting tradition here.
Lluis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Michael Jackson
Luis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Spongebob Squarepants
Luis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Albert Einstein
Lluis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Elvis Presley
Luis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Lluis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Ceramic figurines of Pope Benedict XVI called caganers on November 17, 2010.
Lluis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II
Lluis Gene / AFP - Getty Images
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