Philippines mud festival

A Filipino Catholic devotee, who soaked himself in mud and wrapped in mostly banana leaves, walks around a village to beg for candles prior to attending a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines, Sunday, June 24, 2012.

Traditionally the Feast of St. John the Baptist is celebrated in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation in Asia by dousing unwary people with water, but in this sleepy village of Bibiclat, the residents soak themselves in muddy rice fields and don banana leaves instead. The unique celebration has now become a tourist attraction.

A Filipino Catholic devotee, soaked in mud and wrapped in banana leaves, attends a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, at Bibiclat village, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines on Sunday, June 24, 2012.

Filipino Catholic devotees, who soaked themselves in mud and wrapped in mostly banana leaves, attend a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines on Sunday, June 24, 2012.

Filipino Catholic devotees, who soaked themselves in mud and donned banana leaves as costumes, walk around the village to beg for candles prior to attending a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, in northern Philippines on Sunday June 24, 2012.

A Filipino Catholic devotee, who soaked himself in mud and wrapped in mostly banana leaves, walks around a village to beg for candles prior to attending a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines, Sunday, June 24, 2012.

Filipino Catholic devotees soak themselves in mud before donning their banana leaves costumes prior to attending a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, in northern Philippines on Sunday June 24, 2012.

A Filipino Catholic devotee, who soaked himself in mud and wrapped in banana leaves, attends a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, in northern Philippines on Sunday June 24, 2012.

A Filipino Catholic devotee, who soaked himself in mud and wrapped in mostly banana leaves, walks around the village to beg for candles prior to attending a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, in northern Philippines on Sunday June 24, 2012.

Filipino Catholic devotees, who soaked themselves in mud and wrapped in mostly banana leaves, attend a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines, Sunday, June 24, 2012.

A Roman Catholic priests sprinkles holy water to devotees, who soaked themselves in mud and donned mostly banana leaves as costumes, following a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, in northern Philippines on Sunday June 24, 2012.

Filipino Catholic devotees, who soaked themselves in mud and wrapped in mostly banana leaves, walk around the village to beg for candles prior to attending a mass to celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist at Bibiclat village, in northern Philippines on Sunday June 24, 2012. Traditionally the Feast of St. John the Baptist is celebrated in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation in Asia by dousing unwary people with water, but in this sleepy village of Bibiclat, the residents soak themselves in muddy rice fields and don banana leaves instead. The unique celebration has now become a tourist attraction.

In suburban San Juan, east of Manila, revelers are doused with water from fire trucks in a more traditional celebration of the feast of Saint John the Baptist Sunday, June 24, 2012.

Revelers gesture as they are sprayed with water during celebrations of the feast of Saint John the Baptist Sunday, June 24, 2012 in suburban San Juan, east of Manila, Philippines. Thousands of Filipinos honored their patron saint by drenching passers-by and motorists with water in a raucous annual celebration.

A resident douses a jeepney passenger with water during celebrations of the feast of Saint John the Baptist Sunday, June 24, 2012 in suburban San Juan, east of Manila, Philippines.

A man carries his daughter on his shoulders as they walk amidst revelers during celebrations of the feast of Saint John the Baptist Sunday, June 24, 2012 in suburban San Juan, east of Manila, Philippines.

Residents block a taxi as they douse it with water during celebrations of the feast of Saint John the Baptist Sunday, June 24, 2012 in suburban San Juan, east of Manila, Philippines.

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