Christmas Around the World 2018

Alan Taylor
December 26, 2018
31 Photos
In Focus

One last photo look at this year’s Christmas and its many light shows, religious observances, charity events, and festivals that took place around the world. Gathered here are images from Australia, Japan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, England, Bolivia, the U.S., India, Indonesia, Italy, Israel, France, and many more countries.

Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

A giant Santa Claus stands in the lake in front of Phu My Cathedral outside Hanoi, Vietnam, on December 23, 2018. In Vietnam, a predominantly Buddhist nation, Christmas is not an official public holiday, but many people have adopted it as both a religious festival and a new cultural tradition. #

Linh Pham / Getty

Read more
Fans of the FC Union football club gather in the club's stadium to sing Christmas carols on December 23, 2018, in Berlin, Germany. The annual gathering has become a firm tradition, now in its 16th year. All 28,500 tickets were sold. #

Michele Tantussi / Getty

Read more
People dressed in Santa Claus costumes ride on motorbikes near the Eiffel Tower during "Carabalade," the annual Santa Claus parade in Paris, France, on December 20, 2018. #

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Read more
A man dressed in a Santa Claus outfit tours a neighborhood on the outskirts of the Iraqi central city of Najaf to amuse children and distribute small gifts on December 25, 2018. #

Haidar Hamdani / AFP / Getty

Read more
People sing Christmas songs on Christmas Eve at Washington Square Park in New York City on December 24, 2018. #

Liao Pan / China News Service / VCG via Getty

Read more
A girl looks at Christmas trees outside a store in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on December 22, 2018. #

Patrick Meinhardt / AFP / Getty

Read more
Girls light candles at the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 23, 2018. #

Mussa Qawasma / Reuters

Read more
Waterskiing reindeer make their annual Christmas Eve appearance along the waterfront in Alexandria, Virginia, on December 24, 2018. #

James Lawler Duggan / Reuters

Read more
U.S. and NATO forces attend a ceremony on Christmas Day at the Resolute Support Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 25, 2018. #

Rahmat Gul / AP

Read more
A man dressed as Santa Claus holds a flare as he sits in a boat during Christmas Eve celebrations in Imperia, Italy, on December 24, 2018. #

Antonio Calanni / AP

Read more
The zoo owner Manny Tangco holds the hand of an orangutan named Pacquiao while the two wear Santa Claus hats as part of their Christmas presentation at the Malabon Zoo in Manila, Philippines, on December 21, 2018. #

Aaron Favila / AP

Read more
A worker waves as he cleans the windows of a building, dressed as Santa Claus, in Concón, Chile, on December 22, 2018. #

Rodrigo Garrido / Reuters

Read more
Girls from the Carlos Villegas orphanage perform during Christmas season, in La Paz, Bolivia, on December 22, 2018. #

David Mercado / Reuters

Read more
The full moon rises beyond a crab-apple tree decorated with more than 20,000 lights on Friday, December 21, 2108, in Lee's Summit, Missouri. The display, known as the Lee's Summit Magic Tree, is a single tree in a vacant lot along a freeway, and draws hundreds of visitors each holiday season. #

Charlie Riedel / AP

Read more
A woman walks past a store selling Christmas decorations in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 22, 2018. #

Thaier Al-Sudani / Reuters

Read more
People visiting and working on Bondi Beach wear Christmas hats on December 25, 2018, in Sydney, Australia. December is one of the hottest months of the year across Australia, with Christmas Day traditionally involving a trip to the beach and celebrations outdoors. #

James D. Morgan / Getty

Read more
People dressed in Santa Claus costumes attend a parade under winter illuminations at the Marunouchi business district in Tokyo, Japan, on December 21, 2018. #

Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP / Getty

Read more
A man looks at Santa Claus Christmas displays at a shopping mall in central Bangkok, Thailand, on December 25, 2018. #

Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP / Getty

Read more
Women dance before the annual Santa Claus city race in Skopje, Macedonia, on December 23, 2018. #

Ognen Teofilovski / Reuters

Read more
A man dressed as Santa Claus visits patients at San Juan de Dios Hospital in Guatemala City on December 19, 2018. #

Johan Ordonez / AFP / Getty

Read more
A woman stands next to a nativity-scene display during Christmas Day preparations at the Saint Benoit church in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 24, 2018. #

Baz Ratner / Reuters

Read more
Clergymen take part during Christmas celebrations at Jakarta Cathedral in Indonesia on December 24, 2018. #

Willy Kurniawan / Reuters

Read more
Duncan Moore, a volunteer diver at the Seattle Aquarium, wears a Santa suit as he poses for photos with a child while diving in the Window on Washington Waters exhibit in Seattle, Washington, on December 21, 2018. Moore, who is able to speak to the audience with a radio headset, also read a holiday story before finishing his dive. #

Ted S. Warren / AP

Read more
This picture taken on December 24, 2018, shows Indonesian Christians attending Mass on Christmas Eve at a stadium in Surabaya, the country's second-largest city. #

Juni Kriswanto / AFP / Getty

Read more
A girl raises her arms as she enjoys a Christmas light and sound show in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on December 22, 2018. #

Eloisa Lopez / Reuters

Read more
An Indian Christian nun attends Christmas prayers in a church in Guwahati, India, on December 25, 2018, #

Anupam Nath / AP

Read more
Women wearing Christmas costumes are seen along a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on December 25, 2018. #

Pring Samrang / Reuters

Read more
An Indian woman takes a selfie wearing a Santa Claus hat with friends at a market on Christmas Day in New Delhi on December 25, 2018. Despite Christians making up just over 2 percent of the billion-plus population in India, with Hindus comprising the majority, Christmas is celebrated with much fanfare throughout the country. #

Prakash Singh / AFP / Getty

Read more
Boys help clean Saint Benoit Church during Christmas Day preparations, in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 24, 2018. #

Baz Ratner / Reuters

Read more
People sit on a promenade illuminated with colored lights as part of Christmas celebrations in Mumbai, India, on December 24, 2018. #

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

Read more
The eighteen-month-old Briell Digiacom of Lone Tree, Colorado, expresses herself while posing for a photograph with Santa Claus with her 4-year-old sister, Keri, as last-minute shoppers finished up their Christmas gift lists at the Outlet Malls in Castle Rock on December 24, 2018, in Castle Rock, Colorado. #

David Zalubowski / AP

Read more