PHOTOS: Christmas 2014 celebrated around the world
December 24, 2014
A competitor in Christmas fancy dress jumps into the sea during the 105th Barcelona Traditional Christmas Swimming Cup at the Old Harbour of Barcelona on December 25, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. The Copa Nadal is organized by the Barcelona Swimming Club and involves competitors swimming across some 200 meters of water in the harbor. Launched in 1908 the event has only been suspended three times when the Spanish Civil War interrupted proceedings between 1936 and 1938. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) ( 460827164 )
Competitors in fancy dress enjoy the atmosphere prior to the 105th Barcelona Traditional Christmas Swimming Cup at the Old Harbor of Barcelona on December 25, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. The Copa Nadal is organized by the Barcelona Swimming Club and involves competitors swimming across some 200 meters of water in the harbor. Launched in 1908 the event has only been suspended three times when the Spanish Civil War interrupted proceedings between 1936 and 1938. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) ( 460827252 )
Competitors in fancy dress jump are seen during the 105th Barcelona Traditional Christmas Swimming Cup at the Old Harbor of Barcelona on December 25, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. The Copa Nadal is organized by the Barcelona Swimming Club and involves competitors swimming across some 200 meters of water in the harbor. Launched in 1908 the event has only been suspended three times when the Spanish Civil War interrupted proceedings between 1936 and 1938. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) ( 460827182 )
A woman walks with her child through heavy snowfall at a park in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) ( APTOPIX Russia Weather )
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal (C) leads a Christmas midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, on December 25, 2014 in the West Bank biblical town of Bethlehem. Pilgrims from across the world have descended on Jesus's birthplace in Bethlehem to begin the global celebration of Christmas after a violence-plagued year brought suffering to many Middle Eastern Christians. AMMAR AWAD/AFP/Getty Images ( 536368519 )
Pakistani minority Christians attend a Christmas mass at a Cathedral Church in Lahore on December 25, 2014. Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas Day, a holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images ( 536369781 )
An alpaca is used during a sales promotion in Beijing on December 25, 2014. Christmas -- once banned in China -- has exploded in the atheist nation in recent years, with marketers using everything from saxophones and smurfs to steam trains to get shoppers to open their wallets. WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images ( 536368840 )
Indian Harshaben Prajapati (C), dressed as Santa Claus, participates in a cleanliness drive along with residents of the Shreemati Maniben Tribhovandas Matugrah retirement home, in Ahmedabad on December 25, 2014. Despite Christians forming a little over 2 percent of the billion plus population in India, with Hindus comprising the majority, Christmas is celebrated with much fanfare and zeal throughout the country. SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images ( 536368811 )
Iraqi Christian children, who fled the violence in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, play in near a decorated Christmas tree next to tents erected in the grounds of Mar Elia Chaldean Catholic Church in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq on December 24, 2014. For many faithful across the region, the Christmas festivities will be tinged with sadness following a year of bloodshed marked by a surge in the persecution of Christians that has drawn international condemnation. SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images ( 536363451 )
A motorized tricycle (bottom R) rides past a Christmas decorative lantern in Tacloban, in the central Philippines, on December 24, 2014. Thousands of residents of the typhoon-weary city of Tacloban in the mainly Catholic Philippines got ready on December 24 to mark their second Christmas in ruins following two giant storms. MARLON TANO/AFP/Getty Images ( 536363134 )
A crib made out of rubble and a Christmas tree are set on a roundabout in the regime-held Hamedieh neighborhood in the Syrian city of Homs on December 22, 2014, as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the holy day. YOUSSEF KARWASHAN/AFP/Getty Images ( 536351920 )
A commander of the Pacified Police Units (UPPs) in a blue costume of Santa Claus delivers Christmas presents for children at Vila Cruzeiro favela (community) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 24, 2014. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images ( 536365312 )
Volunteers clad in Santa Claus costumes throw their hats in the air as they gather to deliver gifts for the poor in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) ( South Korea Christmas )
A man dressed as Father Frost, the equivalent of Santa Claus, takes part in an annual New Year's parade in Minsk on December 25, 2014. SERGEI GAPON/AFP/Getty Images ( 536369192 )
Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate Duchess of Cambridge leave after attending the British royal family's traditional Christmas Day church service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) ( Britain Royal Christmas )
Members of the winter and ice swimming club 'Seehunde Berlin' (Berlin Seals), wearing Christmas themed hats, attend the annual Christmas swim at the chilly Oranke Lake in Berlin, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. Every Christmas the club arrange a swim at the lake. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) ( Germany Christmas Swimming )
A fisherman in a Santa costume waves from a boat at Valparaiso Bay within the festivities of Christmas in Valparaiso, some 110 km west of Santiago, Chile, on December 24, 2014. FRANCESCO DEGASPERI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536366046 )
Members of a Lebanese water ski club wearing a Santa Claus costume, one with a national flag, perform in the bay of Jounieh, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 24, 2014. PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images ( 536363001 )
A water-skiing Santa and Elf are towed behind a boat and riding up the Potomac River off Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, not far from washington, DC December 24, 2014. PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images ( 536366970 )
A couple of costumed characters navigate up the Potomac River in a dinghy off Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, not far from Washington, DC December 24, 2014 during the annual water-skiing Santa event. PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images ( 536367020 )
People carry out last minute shopping on December 24, 2014 in London, England. Up to 800m GBP is expected to be spent in a last minute, Christmas Eve, dash for presents. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) ( 460818994 )
A child (R) walks past a three-dimensional art painting featuring Santa Claus, entitled "Santa's Christmas Gift", presented by the interactive art museum "Art in Island" in Manila, as another (L) poses for a photo on December 24, 2014. The Philippines is the largest Christian country in Asia and has one of the longest Christmas seasons in the world, lasting from December 16 to January 6. NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images ( 536363241 )
Visitors light candles in the Church of the Nativity on December 24, 2014 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every Christmas pilgrims travel to the church where a gold star embedded in the floor marks the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) ( 460818846 )
Syrian youth carry religious paintings heading to a Catholic church before Christmas celebrations on December 24, 2014 in the rebel-held side of the northern city of Aleppo. Christians of various denominations make up around five percent of Syria's population. ZEIN AL-RIFAI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536370691 )
A salesman dressed as Santa Claus waits for customers at the entrance of a shop in Beijing on December 25, 2014. Christmas -- once banned in China -- has exploded in the atheist nation in recent years, with marketers using everything from saxophones and smurfs to steam trains to get shoppers to open their wallets. WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images ( 536369329 )
Christians attend the mass service at a flooded church in Bandung, in western Java island, on December 25, 2014. Millions of Christians in Indonesia celebrate the Christmas eve in the most populous Muslim country. TIMUR MATAHARI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536369331 )
An ISAF contractor, center, wears a Santa Claus costume during Christmas celebrations at ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. U.S. senator John McCain is in Kabul for Christmas day. The former presidential candidate met with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and his chief executive officer Abdullah Abdullah in separate meetings during his visit on Thursday. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) ( Afghanistan )
A NATO service member blows a noisemaker during Christmas celebrations at ISAF headquarter in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. U.S. senator John McCain is in Kabul for Christmas day. The former presidential candidate met with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and his chief executive officer Abdullah Abdullah in separate meetings during his visit on Thursday. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) ( Afghanistan Christmas )
An Andean bear feeds on a Christmas and birthday parcel filled with apples in its enclosure at the zoo in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on December 25, 2014. The Andean bear twin brothers Tupa and Sonco were born on December 25, 2013. AFP PHOTO / DPA / ARNE DEDERT ( 536370743 )
Gilles Villeneuve, left, greets Raymond Tremblay, dressed as Santa Claus, at the Shepherds of Good Hope Christmas luncheon in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Justin Tang) ( Canada Christmas )
People dressed in illuminated angel costumes parade to mark Christmas Day in central Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) ( APTOPIX Russia Christmas )
Pope Francis kisses a statue of Baby Jesus as he celebrates the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Pope Francis is celebrating Christmas Eve with a late-night Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and a phone call to some Iraqi refugees forced to flee their homes by Muslim militants. Francis told refugees at the tent camp in Ankawa, a suburb of Irbil in northern Iraq, that they were like Jesus, forced to flee because there was no place for them. For Christians, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem barn manger, chosen because there was no room for his parents at an inn. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) ( Vatican Christmas Eve )
Nigerian pilgrims arrive to pray as part of Christmas celebrations inside the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, on December 24, 2014 in the West Bank biblical town of Bethlehem. This year, Israel granted around 500 permits to Palestinian Christians, allowing them to travel from Gaza to the West Bank so they can visit Bethlehem's Nativity church and attend the traditional midnight mass. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536362799 )
A nun opens a stain glass window at a church in the West Bank town of Bir Zeit as she prepares for the Christmas midnight mass service on December 24, 2014. Pilgrims from across the world have descended on Jesus's birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem to begin the global celebration of Christmas after a violence-plagued year brought suffering to many Middle Eastern Christians. ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536365081 )
An Iranian Christian woman lights candle in Christmas Day at the Saint Mary Chaldean-Assyrian Catholic church in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014. Iran's minority group of Christians are celebrating Christmas and preparing for the new year. According to official figures, around 120,000 Christians live in Iran, mostly in central and northwestern parts of the country. Iranian Christians represent part of the parliament and freely practice their religion as allowed under the constitution. Other minorities, such as the Jews and Zoroastrians, are recognized in the same way by the law. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) ( Mideast Iran Christmas )
A clergyman holds a crucifix in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity as Christians gather for Christmas celebrations in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 24, 2014. Thousands of Palestinians and tourists flocked into the West Bank city of Bethlehem to mark Christmas in the "little town" where many believe Jesus Christ was born. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536364727 )
Palestinian children parade outside the Church of the Nativity on December 24, 2014 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every Christmas pilgrims travel to the church where a gold star embedded in the floor marks the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) ( 460818990 )
A Palestinian man dressed in a Santa Claus costume gives out balloons outside the Church of the Nativity on December 24, 2014 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every Christmas pilgrims travel to the church where a gold star embedded in the floor marks the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) ( 460818958 )
People gather to watch Christmas celebrations in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity as Christians gather for Christmas celebrations in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 24, 2014. Thousands of Palestinians and tourists flocked into the West Bank city of Bethlehem to mark Christmas in the "little town" where many believe Jesus Christ was born. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images ( 536364735 )
A Palestinian policewoman gives out flowers outside the Church of the Nativity on December 24, 2014 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every Christmas pilgrims travel to the church where a gold star embedded in the floor marks the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) ( 460818966 )
Palestinian children dressed in Santa Claus costumes are seen outside the Church of the Nativity on December 24, 2014 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every Christmas pilgrims travel to the church where a gold star embedded in the floor marks the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) ( 460818972 )
Pakistani vendor Maqbool Mashi sells Santa Claus balloons ahead of Christmas in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) ( Pakistan Christmas )
An Iraqi Christian leaves a store after she bought Christmas decoration items in central Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Although the number of Christians has dropped in Iraq, Christmas, a national holiday in Iraq, is very popular in the capital. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) ( Mideast Iraq Christmas )
A Palestinian girl dressed in a costume with "Santa's princess" joins a Christmas Eve celebration at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus was born, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Christian pilgrims from around the world have begun to gather in the biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) ( Mideast Palestinians Holy Land Christmas )
A young Chinese worshipper attends the Christmas Eve mass at a Catholic church in Beijing on December 24, 2014 as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the holy day. FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images ( 536365724 )
Young Chinese worshippers attend the Christmas Eve mass at a Catholic church in Beijing on December 24, 2014 as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the holy day. FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images ( 536366048 )
Young Chinese worshippers attend the Christmas Eve mass at a Catholic church in Beijing on December 24, 2014 as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the holy day. FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images ( 536365933 )
Chinese bishop Joseph Li Shan places a statue of baby Jesus in a replica of a stable as he takes part in a mass on the eve of Christmas at the South Cathedral official Catholic church in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Estimates for the number of Christians in China range from the conservative official figure of 23 million to as many as 100 million by independent scholars, raising the possibility that Christians may rival in size the 85 million members of the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) ( China Christmas )
An Indian Christan comes out from an illuminated Church on the eve of Christmas in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Christmas is a national holiday in India, marked by millions of all religions and faiths. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) ( India Christmas )
The Salaj family Christmas light decoration extravaganza illuminate the estate on December 23, 2015, in Cazma, 100 kilometers east from capital Zagreb. The Salaj family, from Grabovnica near Cazma, created a Christmas story on their estate, decorating it with a million and a half Christmas lights. For this year, the family have further expanded and decorated the property. In the festive atmosphere in the Croatian region the Salaj's Christmas story is the largest tourist attraction. Zlatko Salaj started the Christmas story project at Cazma in 2003, which has become a tourist brand of the Cazma area. AFP PHOTO/STRINGER-/AFP/Getty Images ( 536365105 )
The Salaj family Christmas light decoration extravaganza illuminate the estate on December 23, 2015, in Cazma, 100 kilometers east from capital Zagreb. The Salaj family, from Grabovnica near Cazma, created a Christmas story on their estate, decorating it with a million and a half Christmas lights. For this year, the family have further expanded and decorated the property. In the festive atmosphere in the Croatian region the Salaj's Christmas story is the largest tourist attraction. Zlatko Salaj started the Christmas story project at Cazma in 2003, which has become a tourist brand of the Cazma area. AFP PHOTO/STRINGER-/AFP/Getty Images ( 536365098 )
A man dressed as Santa Claus lights flares as he sits on a boat in Imperia, near Genoa, Italy, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) ( Italy Christmas Daily Life )
Categories: News, Offbeat, Syndicated, World
Tags: photo