TOGETHER AGAIN: Global gatherings worldwide
In big cities and rural villages worldwide, a diverse array of traditional gatherings was held in October 2022. People came together to celebrate, commemorate and partake in cultural rituals of significance and beauty.
Many of the events were religious in nature: Diwali, Eid-e-Milad and Sukkot.
Some gatherings came together in response to natural events like the partial solar eclipse. Cultural festivals included Halloween in the U.S., a twins’ meet-up in Nigeria and a Taekwondo demonstration in South Korea.
Here, AP photographers, based in multiple locations, give a glimpse into this universal human activity of gathering.
Thank you for looking.
Members of "Jove de Xiquets de Valls" celebrate after complete their human tower during the 28th Human Tower Competition in Tarragona, Spain, on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
Model: Sony a9II | Lens: Sony 70-200mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/10000| ISO: 2500
Ultra-Orthodox Jews surround a plastic pool with water and fish as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Tashlich, which means 'to cast away' in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically 'throw away' their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which start on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 24mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/125 | ISO: 400
A Nepalese policeman applies vermillion on the forehead of a police dog during Kukkur Tihar dog festival at their kennel division in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 24mm | F-Stop: 4 | Shutter Speed: 1/500 | ISO: 500
People walk inside a light art installation at the Spotlight street art festival in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 70-200mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/125 | ISO: 1000
An artist dressed as Shiva, Hindu god of destruction, poses backstage before a final Ramleela performance as part of Dussehra festival celebrations in New Delhi, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. Ramleela is a dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Hindu lord Rama. After the enactment of the legendary war between Good and Evil, the Ramleela celebrations climax in the Dussehra night festivities where the giant effigies of demon King Ravana, his brother Kumbakaran and son Meghnad are burnt, typically with fireworks. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 85mm | F-Stop: 2.0 | Shutter Speed: 1/160 | ISO: 640
A woman dressed as Mexico's iconic "Catrina" poses for tourists in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo, as part of the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. The holiday honors the dead as friends and family gather in cemeteries to decorate the graves of their loved ones. and hold a vigil during the night of November 1 and 2. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
Model: Sony a9II | Lens: Sony 70-200mm | F-Stop: 5 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 200
A jack-o'-lantern featuring a UFO and an alien is seen next to other decorated pumpkins at Ladew Topiary Gardens, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Monkton, Md. Now in its sixth season, the Garden Glow event is held in part of the garden's 25 acre establishment. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Model: Sony a9II | Lens: Sony 16-35mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/40 | ISO: 5000
People light lamps on the banks of the river Saryu in Ayodhya, India, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. Over 15,00,000 earthen lamps were lit along the banks of the Saryu River, as millions of people across Asia celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 16-35mm | F-Stop: 3.2 | Shutter Speed: 1/50 | ISO: 800
Quechua Indigenous women attend a ceremony to launch the annual Sikuris, or windpipes, festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. The city of Oruro will host the festival Oct. 29-30. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 24-70mm | F-Stop: 3.2 | Shutter Speed: 1/400 | ISO: 400
Ultra-Orthodox Jews wearing prayer shawls perform the Hoshana Rabbah prayer on the seventh day of the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, at Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem's Old City with the Dome of the Rock shrine, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 24-70mm | F-Stop: 3.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/6400 | ISO: 200
Spectators attend the opening ceremony of the 14th Lumiere Festival, in Lyon, central France, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Model: Sony a9II | Lens: Sony 35mm | F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/50 | ISO: 400
Kashmiri Muslim devotees raise their hands in prayer as a head priest displays a relic at the Hazratbal shrine on Eid-e-Milad, or the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 24-70mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/60 | ISO: 3200
Hindu women smear vermilion powder each other's faces during Durga Puja festival in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. The festival commemorates the slaying of a demon king by lion-riding, ten armed goddess Durga, marking the triumph of good over evil. (AP Photo/ Mahesh Kumar A.)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 16-35mm | F-Stop: 8 | Shutter Speed: 1/160 | ISO: 1600
Twins Taiwo Lateef, left, and Kehinde Lateef, 13, from Igbo-Ora town and students of Igbo-Ora grammar secondary school attends the annual twins festival in Igbo-Ora South west Nigeria, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 16-35mm | F-Stop: 7.1 | Shutter Speed: 1/200 | ISO: 1250
People watch a partial solar eclipse using special glasses at the Al Thuraya Astronomy Center, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 35mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 100
Children play inside a fountain during a projection show under the Al Wasl Dome at the Expo City, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 16-35mm | F-Stop: 5 | Shutter Speed: 1/200| ISO: 3200
A musician plays during the Our Lady of the Rosary festival in the Andean village of Huarina, Bolivia, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 24mm | F-Stop: 3.2 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500| ISO: 200
Troops march during a military parade on the national holiday known as "Dia de la Hispanidad" or Hispanic Day in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. Spain commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World and also Spain's armed forces day. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 35mm | F-Stop: 1.4 | Shutter Speed: 1/8000 | ISO: 160
A member of Taekwondo demonstration team breaks plates during the Taekwondo demonstration near the Gwanghwamun, one of South Korea's well-known landmarks, at a square in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 135mm | F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/8000 | ISO: 100
An elderly woman looks through a welding filter during a partial solar eclipse in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 70-200mm | F-Stop: 4 | Shutter Speed: 1/1600 | ISO: 125
A Nepalese woman offers prayers to the setting sun at the Bagmati River during the Chhath Puja festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 70-200mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500| ISO: 500
People watch a partial solar eclipse in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Model: Sony a1 | Lens: Sony 200-600mm | F-Stop: 8 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000| ISO: 100 Focal Length 200mm
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