It’s an alarming statistic, no matter where your beliefs lie: over the past decade, some 3,500 churches have closed across the UK. That’s around 29 per month, or one lost every day of the week.
In an eastern corner of the Czech Republic, St. Nicholas leads a procession of followers dressed in grim reaper and devil costumes on a journey through the village of Lidecko. St. Nicholas presents the children with sweets to soothe them after they see the scary costumes. The devils wear homemade masks made of sheepskin and travel with white, scythe-carrying creatures that represent death.