An ultra-Orthodox Jew holds a chicken above the head of a woman during the Kaparot ritual in Jerusalem on Sept. 10, 2013, ahead of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Kaparot is an ancient custom connected to Yom Kippur, where white chickens are slaughtered as a symbolic gesture of atonement. (Xinhua/Muammar Awad)