With less than a week left until Christmas, lighted displays, colorful markets, and Santa’s helpers are out in force. From the Americas to Europe and Asia, gathered here as an early gift is a collection of holiday cheer and light wrapped up in 30 photographs.
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
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![A surfer dressed as Santa Claus rides an artificial wave.]()
Read moreA surfer dressed as Santa Claus rides an artificial wave in nearly freezing water in the Alaia Bay wave pool, surrounded by the Swiss Alps, in Sion, Switzerland, on December 15, 2021. #
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty -
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![Many Christmas lights hang above a city street at night.]()
Read moreChristmas decorations illuminate one of the main avenues in Barcelona, Spain, on December 14, 2021. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
![A man dressed as Santa Claus embraces several children on a riverbank.]()
Read moreA member of the Amigos do Papai Noel ("Friends of Santa Claus") group, wearing a Santa Claus costume, greets the children of Sao Francisco community at Careiro da Varzea, Brazil, a city on the shores of the Amazon River, on December 18, 2021. Amigos do Papai Noel is dedicated to promoting Christmas for underprivileged children in the city of Manaus and rural and riverside communities in the Amazon. #
Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty -
![Thousands of people dressed as Santa Claus take part in a race.]()
Read moreThousands of people dressed as Santa Claus take part in the annual Santa Claus race in Madrid, Spain, on December 19, 2021. #
Burak Akbulut / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![A dog wearing a Christmas costume rests on grass.]()
Read moreA dog wearing a Christmas costume attends a canine fashion competition in Lima, Peru, on December 16, 2021. #
Angela Ponce / Reuters -
![Children light candles in a small room.]()
Read moreYoung Christian worshippers light candles outside the grotto at the Church of the Nativity, the traditional place of Christ's birth, in the city of Bethlehem, on December 19, 2021. #
Abbas Momani / AFP / Getty -
![People walk on a bridge over a decorated canal.]()
Read morePeople walk on a bridge over the Naviglio Grande canal, decorated with Christmas lights, in Milan, Italy, on December 5, 2021. #
Flavio Lo Scalzo / Reuters -
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![A couple is silhouetted by a brightly lit Christmas tree.]()
Read moreA couple walks toward a Christmas tree in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on December 20, 2021. #
Lisa Marie David / Reuters -
![A man pulls a Christmas tree behind him as children run ahead in a snowy field.]()
Read moreA man pulls a Christmas tree behind him, after cutting it at a Christmas-tree plantation in Unterweikertshofen, near Munich, Germany, on December 11, 2021. #
Lukas Barth / Reuters -
![A child is photographed wearing an elf costume.]()
Read moreA child takes part in the first annual Elf Con, a family-friendly alternative to Santa Con, during the Christmas season in New York City, on December 12, 2021. #
David Dee Delgado / Reuters -
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![A man dressed as Santa Claus rides in a mock-up of a sleigh with four reindeer, as it is carried on cables over a lake.]()
Read moreSaint Nicholas and his reindeer "fly" above Lake Leman at the Christmas market, in Montreux, Switzerland, on December 6, 2021. #
Denis Balibouse / Reuters -
![People walk on an illuminated suspension bridge at night.]()
Read moreGuests walk on the suspension bridge during Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park on December 16, 2021, in North Vancouver, British Columbia, on December 16, 2021. #
Andrew Chin / Getty -
![People work on giant statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.]()
Read moreArtists put the finishing touches on an oversize Nativity scene, on display at the P'esko Ujyana Ecological Park in Oruro, Bolivia, on December 18, 2021. #
Juan Karita / AP -
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![Santa flies close overhead, using a paraglider.]()
Read moreA man dressed as Santa Claus paraglides near Ajaccio, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, on December 19, 2021. #
Pascal Pochard-Casabianca / AFP / Getty -
![A person walks in a park at night, past a large illuminated Christmas ornament.]()
Read moreA woman passes by a Christmas decoration in Moscow, Russia, on December 14, 2021. #
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters -
![Workers in a factory pack candy canes in boxes.]()
Read morePeople work at Hammond's Candies, the largest U.S. wholesale supplier of candy canes, in Denver, Colorado, on December 16, 2021. #
Alyson McClaran / Reuters -
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![Several people gather outside a shop selling Christmas trees and decor.]()
Read morePeople shop for Christmas decorations and gifts on Hàng Mã Street in Hanoi, Vietnam, on December 11, 2021. In the predominantly Buddhist nation, Christmas is not an official public holiday, but many people celebrate it as both a religious festival and a new cultural tradition. #
Linh Pham / Getty -
![A young child cries while sitting on Santa's lap. Santa laughs.]()
Read moreChristian Malseed, age 2, poses for a photo with Santa at the Willow Grove Park Mall in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 2021. #
Hannah Beier / Reuters -
![A boy is silhouetted against Christmas lights reflected in a pond.]()
Read moreA boy is silhouetted against Christmas lights reflected in a pond as he walks through a park in Lenexa, Kansas, on December 9, 2021. #
Charlie Riedel / AP -
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![People view a large illuminated sculpture of a reindeer.]()
Read morePeople visit an illuminated trail featuring larger-than-life lantern sculptures, installations, and projections at Verdala Palace, outside Rabat, Malta, on December 8, 2021. #
Darrin Zammit Lupi / Reuters -
![Rowers dressed as Santa Claus take part in a regatta on the Grand Canal in Venice.]()
Read moreRowers dressed as Santa Claus take part in the Santa Claus Regatta on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, on December 19, 2021. #
Stefano Mazzola / Awakening / Getty -
![A Christmas ornament shaped as Santa Claus wearing a protective mask hangs from a snow-covered pine tree.]()
Read moreA Christmas ornament shaped as Santa Claus wearing a protective mask is pictured in Eichenau, Germany, on November 26, 2021. #
Michaela Rehle / Reuters -
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![Rowhouses are seen covered in holiday decorations at night.]()
Read moreRowhouses are seen covered in holiday decorations as part of the Miracle on 34th Street Hampden Christmas Street Holiday Show, in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, on December 9, 2021. #
Julio Cortez / AP -
![A young woman poses for a photo in a brightly lit holiday market.]()
Read morePeople visit a traditional holiday fair as Red Square is decorated with Christmas trees and ornaments in Moscow, Russia, on December 14, 2021. #
Sefa Karacan / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![Children in choir robes sing in a cathedral while holding candles.]()
Read moreChoristers sing at St. Paul's Cathedral on December 21, 2021, in London, England. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
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![People walk through a tunnel of lights.]()
Read morePeople walk through a tunnel of lights at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on November 25, 2021, in Edinburgh, Scotland. #
Peter Summers / Getty -
![A person carries a child on their shoulders in a crowd, both wearing Santa hats.]()
Read morePeople gather around the the lighting of public Christmas lights at Gran Estacion Mall in Bogota, Colombia, during a performance by Bogota's Philharmonic Orchestra, on December 14, 2021. #
Juancho Torres / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A view of the brightly lit Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.]()
Read moreA view of the huge Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, seen during the 89th annual Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in New York City on December 1, 2021. #
Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![People wearing Santa hats and swimsuits splash in waist-deep water near a beach.]()
Read moreBathers take part in the traditional Christmas bath in the French Riviera city of Nice, on December 19, 2021. #
Valery Hache / AFP / Getty -
![A person dressed as Santa Claus shares a moment with a dog dressed as a reindeer.]()
Read moreA view of a participant at the 2021 Pawlidays celebration at Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles, on December 18, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. #
Emma McIntyre / Getty
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