Piercing and Pain Festival  

Here's something I found at Weird Asia News. Thailand’s Chinese spend the ninth month of the lunar calendar abstaining from meat and various stimulants in the belief that doing so will bring them health and peace of mind.

The whole thing culminates in the Piercing and Pain Festival featuring people who pierce their bodies and go through self-inflicted pain in the belief they are driving out their demons and purging their bodies of evil spirits.