A motorcyclist, Helton Garcia, dressed as Santa Claus, rides his motorcycle before handing out gifts to children in a rural school in Santo Antonio do Descoberto, Goiás, Brazil, on December 10, 2023. #

People dressed as Santa Claus run through the streets as they take part in the annual Nikolaus Lauf (Saint Nicholas Run), in Michendorf, Germany, on December 10, 2023. #

A delegate walks past the Russia Pavilion on day eight of the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference at Expo City Dubai on December 8, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. #

A woman holds an infant's hand as they both enjoy the Expo Waterfall in the Green Zone during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28, in Dubai on December 11, 2023. #

A migrant child jumps to cross the border wall through a gap, entering the U.S. from Mexico, as the number of migrants surges in the border town of Lukeville, Arizona, on December 12, 2023. #

Linnea Isen, playing the part of Sankta Lucia, sings with members of the London Nordic Choir during the Sankta Lucia candlelit service at York Minster in York, England, on December 11, 2023. #

A devil figure is set ablaze during celebrations in honor of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception in Guatemala City on December 7, 2023. The event marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Guatemala. #

Participants hold burning "rondeles" (rolled wicker strainer mats soaked in oil) during a procession devoted to the virgin of Rondeles, in Casarabonela, near Málaga, Spain, on December 12, 2023, on the eve of the Santa Lucia festival. This tradition, which marks the start of Christmas celebrations, comes from an old procession performed by olive-oil millers, who used to put fire to the wicker strainer mats used to press the olives as an act of thanksgiving to the Holy Shepherdess (Virgin Mary) for the harvest obtained. #

A Christmas tree goes up in flames in a controlled-setting demonstration by the Glendale Fire Department on December 13, 2023, in Glendale, California. Firefighters showed how quickly a dried-out tree can ignite. According to the National Fire Protection Administration, Christmas trees account for hundreds of fires each year, many ignited by shorts in electrical lights or open flames from candles, lighters, or matches. #

People skating on ice at the illuminated former coking plant Zollverein in Essen, Germany, on December 11, 2023. The World Heritage site was once the hottest place in town, where coke was made at 1,000 degrees Celsius. Now the industrial landmark becomes an ice rink every winter. #

On December 11, 2023, in Portsmouth, England, Members of the public watch as Naval personnel stand on deck during the arrival of the United Kingdom's biggest warship, the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, following a three-month deployment. HMS Prince of Wales recently finished sea and air trials in the eastern United States, enhancing the capabilities of the U.K.'s aircraft carriers, especially in launching and landing F-35s under challenging weather conditions. #

Palestinians climb atop a truck carrying drinkable water, tossing bottles to others below, as they face the threat of hunger and thirst in Rafah, Gaza, on December 11, 2023. #

A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 11, 2023, shows Israeli army soldiers keeping position on a hill overlooking northern Gaza. #

A heron sits on a partially submerged chair as the River Thames overtops its banks, following prolonged rainfall and high tides, in west London, England, on December 13, 2023. #

French choreographer Mourad Merzouki poses with the French synchronized swimming team during a photo session at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance in Paris, France, on December 7, 2023. #

A woman in a crowd watching a Parliament session on a movie-theater screen reacts to a confidence vote on outgoing Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, Poland, on December 11, 2023. Polish lawmakers voted to reject the proposed conservative government, a widely expected outcome that paves the way for the rival pro-EU alliance to form the next administration. #

A woman walks near clothes that lie on Sant Sebastià Beach in Barcelona, Spain, as Open Arms NGO simulates the scene of a shipwreck to commemorate the lives that were lost after people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in 2023, seen on December 11, 2023. #

Cindy Smith searches for belongings in the rubble of her father's mobile home in Clarksville, Tennessee, on December 10, 2023. Tornadoes caused catastrophic damage in Middle Tennessee on December 9. #

People walk along a bridge as Christmas lights illuminate the Darsena dei Navigli, the neighborhood named for the canals that run through this area of Milan, Italy, on December 14, 2023. #

People visit a new interactive experience at Rockefeller Center on December 12, 2023. "The Beam" allows visitors to re-create the famed 1932 photo "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper," which shows 11 workers eating lunch on a steel beam above Manhattan while 30 Rock was under construction. Visitors are strapped on a steel-beam replica on the 69th floor, then are lifted 12 feet above the Observation Deck platform and taken for a 180-degree turn. #

Revelers dressed as holiday characters participate in the annual SantaCon pub crawl on December 9, 2023, in New York City. Although it ostensibly raisies money for charity, the event has been criticized for widespread drunkenness and sporadic violence. #

People swim underwater at Clovelly Beach in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2023. A severe heat wave hit Sydney over the weekend, a precursor of the hot and dry conditions expected for the rest of the summer, which will also bring heightened bushfire risk. #