A Nepalese devotee walks to a temple to offer prayers on the occasion of the Janai Purnima festival, or Sacred Thread festival, in Kavre district, 28 miles east of Katmandu, Nepal, Aug. 13. On Janai Purnima, Hindus take holy baths and perform their annual change of the Janai, a sacred cotton string worn around their chest or tied on the wrist, in the belief that it will protect and purify them. (Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi / AP) Click image to zoom.