There are only a few days left until Christmas, and Santa Claus and his
many helpers have been busy around the globe. From London to Tokyo, from
the Ivory Coast to Los Angeles, people are out enjoying the winter
weather, shopping for loved ones, visiting Santa, and taking part in
pageants in anticipation of the big day. This collection is a quick tour
of many different Christmas celebrations. Merry Christmas, everyone!
The next photo essay here will be posted on Wednesday, the 26th.
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| An actress dressed as the Christkind poses in a
Deutsche Post retail outlet in Engelskirchen, Germany on December 20,
2012. Each year, the Christkind answers some 150,000 letters from around
the world via Deutsche Post. (AP Photo/Sascha Schuermann) |
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Gregory Gull Jr., dressed as Santa, throws fresh snow in the air in
Crested Butte, Colorado, on December 20, 2012. Over 32 inches of snow
fell on the mountains during the past seven days.
(AP Photo/Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Nathan Bilow)
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| Lucifer the lion holds a Christmas present in his
mouth at ZSL London Zoo on December 12, 2012 in London, England. Keepers
at the zoo gave the some of the animals Christmas presents containing
festive treats. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) |
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| In this combination of two images the interior of
Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by trails of candles carried by
choristers during the annual "darkness to light" advent procession on
December 1, 2012 in Salisbury, England. The service -- which begins with
the medieval cathedral in total darkness and silence before the Advent
Candle is lit at the West End -- is one of the most popular services of
the liturgical year. The annual advent service, which takes place over
three nights and is seen by several thousand people, is a mix of music
and readings during which two great candlelit processions move around
the different spaces in the 750-year-old building which, by the end, is
illuminated by almost 1,300 candles. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images) |
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| Runners dressed in Santa Claus outfits compete in
the Santa Dash in Liverpool, England, on December 2, 2012. Over 8,000
people were expected to compete in the annual event which is run over a
5km course. (Reuters/Phil Noble) |
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| A newly-decorated Christmas tree lit behind him,
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Aaron Dunn hands his baby Emma to his wife Leanne, in
their living room in Fountain, Colorado, one week after Dunn's return
from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, on December 8, 2012. 1st Lt. Dunn
had not seen his wife and baby since his unit deployed to the mountains
of Afghanistan in February. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) |
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| Workers collect orders at Amazon.com's fulfillment center in Rugeley, England, on December 11, 2012. (Reuters/Phil Noble) |
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| Visitors walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge
decorated in Christmas lights in North Vancouver, British Columbia, on
December 10, 2012. Originally built in 1889, the bridge stretches 135
meters across and 70 meters above the Capilano River. (Reuters/Andy Clark) |
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| Eric Marshall sets up his Christmas lights on his
house in Bagby, England, on December 17, 2012. Eric spends 3 weeks each
year setting up the display which runs throughout December to the 12th
night and raises funds for the local church. Eric has raised nearly
£20,000 over the past 20 years when he started out with one Santa and
sleigh. (Reuters/Nigel Roddis) |
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| Michael Sciaraffo, costumed as Santa Claus, makes a
toy delivery to a home in the Bell Harbor neighborhood of New York, on
December 18, 2012. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable
enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected
by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) |
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| A reindeer lines up outside 10 Downing Street as a party is hosted for sick children on December 17, 2012 in London, England. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) |
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| A child reacts to a reveler dressed as a devil at
the Old Town Square in Prague, on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day December
5, 2012. Revelers dressed as Saint Nicholas and a devil approached
children on the streets as part of a tradition to determine if they had
behaved well during the past year and depending on their answers, would
receive presents, sweets or coal accordingly. (Reuters/David W Cerny) |
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| Cape penguins and an aquarium keeper dressed in
Christmas themed costumes take part in a Christmas event at the
Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, on
December 19, 2012. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| People react to a snow machine as they gather to
look at Christmas lights that adorn a house in Melksham, England, on
December 8, 2012. The lights, a popular festive attraction, have
returned to the town after a two-year absence and have raised thousands
of pounds for charity for a local hospice, Dorothy House. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images) |
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| Adriana Leiss and her daughters Gabriella and
Amelia replace burned out light bulbs on their 1965 Chevy pick-up truck
decorated for Christmas at their house, on what is known as "Candy Cane
Lane" in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, on December 9, 2012.
(AP Photo/Richard Vogel) |
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| The 80th Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in New York City, on November 28, 2012. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri) |
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| A visually impaired child performs during Christmas
celebrations at Devnar School for the Blind in Hyderabad, India, on
December 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A) |
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| A 14-foot Christmas tree appears to be crashing
through the roof of a one-story house in Seattle's Magnolia
neighborhood, on December 20, 2012. Homeowner Patrick Kruger created the
illusion of the tree crashing through the roof by cutting a 14-foot
tree into two pieces and attaching the top six-foot section is to a
piece of plywood that's bolted to the roof. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) |
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| A worker cuts a "Spanbaum" Christmas figure at the
"Erzgebirgische Volkskunst Richard Glaesser" factory in Seiffen,
Germany, on November 28, 2012. For several decades the eastern German
region of Erzgebirge has produced wooden folk art of smokers,
nutcrackers and pyramids especially used as decoration during the
Christmas season. (Reuters/Tobias Schwarz) |
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| Saint Nicholas is followed by his two assistants
called "Zwarte Piet" (Black Pete) during a traditional parade in central
Brussels, Belgium, on December 1, 2012. The Netherlands and Belgium are
two countries that pride themselves on progressive laws and open
societies, but critics say they are stuck in the dark ages when it comes
to depictions of Santa Claus and his helpers. Saint Nicholas, or
"Sinterklaas" in Dutch, brings presents to children on December 5 in the
Netherlands and on December 6 in Belgium, and is always accompanied by
at least one assistant dressed in 17th century costume who has a
blackened face. (Reuters/Francois Lenoir) |
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| Croatians gather in front of a museum in Zagreb as
they participate in an initiative by local artist Kresimir Tadija
Kapulic to release Chinese sky lanterns with people's Christmas and New
Year's wishes, on December 20, 2012. (AFP/Getty Images) |
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| A sun bear reaches for a Christmas present containing a treat, at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2012. (Reuters/Daniel Munoz) |
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| Harry Jackson, 13, the head chorister at St Paul's
Cathedral School sings Christmas carols inside the Cathedral in central
London, on December 10, 2012. Christmas is a busy time of year for the
choir who will sing to over 20,000 people over the season. (Reuters/Andrew Winning) |
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| A Christmas tree stands in front of the Al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, on December 18, 2012. (Reuters/Jamal Saidi) |
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| Valery Kokoulin, 47, dressed as Santa Claus, rings a
bell on his self-made yacht to mark the ending of the sailboat season,
as the air temperature dropped to minus 23 degrees of Celsius (minus 9.4
degrees Fahrenheit), on the Yenisei River, outside Russia's Siberian
city of Krasnoyarsk, on December 7, 2012. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin) |
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| People do their Christmas shopping at the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery on December 20, 2012 in Milan, Italy. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| Capitol Hill police check an unidentified man
dressed as Santa Claus with a metal detector as he enters the U.S.
Capitol on his way to Speaker of the House John Boehner's office in
Washington, DC, on December 12, 2012. The man was working with the group
Catholics United, and wanted to urge Speaker of the House John Boehner
to pass pending "fiscal cliff" legislation before Christmas. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) |
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| Snow-covered San Gabriel mountains rise behind downtown Los Angeles, on December 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) |
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| Revellers dressed up in Santa outfits gather at
Trafalgar Square in London during a Santacon festival parade through the
streets of London, on December 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) |
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| Tourists and locals walk past a Santa Claus statue
placed on a beach for a film shoot in the southern Indian city of Kochi,
on December 10, 2012. (Reuters/Sivaram V) |
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| Christmas lights decorate the streets of Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, on December 15, 2012, after the launch of the 2nd edition
of "Abidjan Perle des Lumieres" (Abidjan perle of lights) for Christmas
and New Year celebrations. (Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| Window cleaners dressed as Santa Claus work during
an event promoting Christmas at a hotel in the business district of
Tokyo, on December 20, 2012. (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon) |
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| A bundle carrying humanitarian supplies and gifts
drifts to the ground off the shore of an island in Micronesia after
C-130 Hercules crews from Yokota Air Base, Japan, flew them in for
Operation Christmas Drop, an annual mission -- the longest-running U.S.
Department of Defense mission in full operation, on December 18, 2012.
The plane took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to airlift the
donated bundles to islands in need. Donations come largely from local
communities in Guam, and include everything from fishing nets and canned
goods, to toys and games. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse) |
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| Icelandic philanthropist Einar Sveinsson, dressed
as Santa Claus, speaks with a patient at the oncology ward during a
visit to the Benjamin Bloom National Children Hospital, in San Salvador,
on December 11, 2012. Sveinsson has visited the hospital prior to
Christmas every year since 2001 to give gifts to the patients. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| Fireworks light the sky near a giant Christmas tree
in Puerto Princesa city, Palawan, west of Manila, on December 1, 2012.
The Philippines, a mainly Roman Catholic country, celebrates one of the
longest Christmas holidays in the world, playing Christmas carols in
shopping malls in September and putting up lanterns and fireworks early
in December. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco) |
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| A police officer dressed in a blue Santa Claus
costume holds a sack and cane in the Macacos slum after arriving by
police helicopter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 20, 2012. The
Pacifying Police Unit, or UPP, organized for Santa to visit the slum to
hand out Christmas gifts to young residents. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) |
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| Visitors to Capilano Park look out at the pointed
peaks of The Lions covered in snow in North Vancouver, British Columbia,
on December 14, 2012. (Reuters/Andy Clark) |
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| Children dressed as angels recreate an act from the
Christmas Nativity Scene outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic
Church in Newtown, Connecticut, one day after a shooting at nearby Sandy
Hook Elementary School, on December 15, 2012. (Reuters/Joshua Lott) |
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| An angel sits atop a Christmas tree in a growing
makeshift memorial for the victims of the December 14 shootings at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 19, 2012. (Reuters/Mike Segar) |
article by: theatlantic.com
