Rites Around the World

Muslims gather for a mass fast-breaking provided by Istiqlal Mosqueon the first day
of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta August 1, 2011.

Lebanese Mohammed Fanas, a dawn awakener, holds a lantern and beats on a drum to awake Muslims for the meal before sunrise in the old souk of the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Monday, Aug. 1, 2011.
From Syria to Libya and Egypt, the uprisings and unrest gripping the Arab world have cast a pall on the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when the traditional focus on piety will likely be eclipsed by more unrest.

Lebanese Mohammed Fanas, a dawn awakener, holds a lantern and beats on a drum to awake Muslims for the meal before sunrise in the old souk of the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Monday, Aug. 1, 2011.

A Filipino Muslim woman enters a mosque to pray during the first day of the holy
fasting month of Ramadan in suburban Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines on
Monday, Aug. 1, 2011.

Indonesian Muslims nap during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan
at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 1, 2011.

Umbanda worshippers scream while in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011. Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian religion that combines African religions with Catholicism and local indigenous beliefs, uses rituals to induce trances in worshippers who "incorporate" the spirits of slaves born in Africa and buried in Brazil. During the ritual trances, the followers will smoke tobacco and drink alcohol, stagger like old slaves, beat their chests and prance around as prostitutes or drunks. Picture taken August 26, 2011

Caio, known as Little Father in his Umbanda religious group, stands in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Miria, known as the Holy Mother of her Umbanda religious group, is assisted by other worshippers as she falls to the floor in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Umbanda worshippers dance to call their spirits during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

An Umbanda worshipper lies in a trance with her head at the "conga," or altar, during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Miria, known as the Holy Mother of her Umbanda religious group, falls to the floor in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

An Umbanda worshipper fills a water glass next to the "conga," or altar, during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Miria, known as the Holy Mother of her Umbanda religious group, stands in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

An Umbanda worshipper stands with her hair covering her face while in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011

An Umbanda worshipper smokes tobacco while in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Miria, known as the Holy Mother of her Umbanda religious group, is assisted by other worshippers as she falls to the floor in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011

Miria (L), known as Holy Mother in her Umbanda religious group, is assisted by Caio, known as Little Father, while in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Caio (near), known as Little Father in his Umbanda religious group, embraces a worshipper who is in a trance during a ritual in the Vila Flavia favela in Sao Paulo, August 26, 2011.

Mount Athos's monasteries are a place of silence. It's only broken by the occasional tapping on a chiseled piece of chestnut. It is a call to prayer and started being used before there were bells.

"The monks here have one goal, and that is how they can get closer to God," Father Serapion explained. Father Serapion wanted us to understand that there is no place on Earth closer to heaven than Mount Athos. "Everyday a thousand divine liturgies are celebrated on the peninsula. It's unique in the world and in the Orthodox church," he explained.

Mount Athos is a big draw for pilgrim; it is packed with pilgrims from all over the Orthodox Christian world, including Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Russia.

As the sun rises, a Palestinian Muslim man reads from the Quran during "fajr," or early morning prayers, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, at a mosque in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, Tuesday, Aug, 16, 2011.

Orthodox Jews prepare a sukkah, an outdoor hut, by covering its roof with branches
as part of the Sukkot holiday at the Chabad center on Oct. 12, 2011, in Berlin, Germany.
Sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles, lasts seven days and community members
take celebratory meals inside the sukkah.

Scouts hold lamps lit from a flame which originated in Bethlehem, after transporting the so called "Bethlehem Lights" by train back to the Czech Republic from Vienna, in Brno.