'Mud People' Honor Catholic Festival in the Philippines

Farmers coated in mud paraded in Philippine villages to mark one of the Catholic nation's most colorful religious festivals on Tuesday.

Image: Residents, covered with dried banana leaves and mud, light candles as they take part in a religious ritual known locally as \"Taong Putik\", while celebrating the Catholic feast day of Saint John the Baptist in the village of Bibiclat

Residents, covered with dried banana leaves and mud, light candles as they take part in a religious ritual known locally as "Taong Putik" (Mud People), while celebrating the Catholic feast day of Saint John the Baptist in the village of Bibiclat, Philippines on June 24.ERIK DE CASTRO / Reuters

June 25, 2014, 12:59 AM UTC / Updated June 25, 2014, 1:16 AM UTC

Residents, covered with dried banana leaves and mud, light candles as they take part in a religious ritual known locally as the "Taong Putik" (Mud People) festival, while celebrating the Catholic feast day of Saint John the Baptist in the village of Bibiclat, Philippines, on Tuesday.

According to Saint John the Baptist parish church, hundreds of devotees participated in this year's feast day, which has been observed in the village of Bibiclat since 1945, to seek blessings and bountiful harvests.

Image: Residents, who are covered in mud and wrapped in dried banana leaves, attend a mass to celebrate the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist at the village of Bibiclat — Residents, who are covered in mud and wrapped in dried banana leaves, attend a mass to celebrate the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist at the village of Bibiclat, Philippines, on June 24.Bullit Marquez / AP