--- description: In TIME's Photo of the Day, a man pierces his face with swords in Thailand. title: TIME's Photo of the Day: A Man with Swords in His Face in Thailand image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Piercing Through Evil by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 10, 2013 9:25 PM CUT by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 10, 2013 9:25 PM CUT  Oct. 10, 2013\. Vegetarian festival devotees parade through the streets of downtown Phuket, Thailand. The festival celebrates a brief abstinence in meat and various stimulants to obtain good health. Some participants act as mediums for gods and pierce their bodies to rid the area of evil spirits and bring good luck to the community. Paula Bronstein—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3803152/piercing-through-evil/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3803152/piercing-through-evil/"},"headline":"Piercing Through Evil","datePublished":"2013-10-10T21:25:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:40:39.417Z","description":"In TIME's Photo of the Day, a man pierces his face with swords in Thailand.","url":"https://time.com/3803152/piercing-through-evil/","keywords":["LightBox","Thailand","Vegetarian","Festival","Photo of the Day"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo Department","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo-department/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3803152/piercing-through-evil/","name":"Piercing Through Evil"}}]}] ```