These images capture how Christmas unfolds in different countries, shaped by history, culture and community spirit.
West Bank
Christian scouts march during Christmas Eve celebrations at the Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. PHOTO: AFP
Scouts marched in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the historic West Bank city emerged from the shadow of the Gaza genocide to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.
Throughout the genocide that intensified in October 2023, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ.
United States
Nativity scene set in Dedham, Massachusetts, with baby Jesus missing from it, a placquered saying “ICE was here”. PHOTO: AFP
A nativity scene traditionally depicts the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, but this one in Dedham, a small town in Massachusetts, doesn’t show the baby. Instead, a board referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s presence here highlights a critique of mass deportations under the Trump administration, pointing to the irony of the revered figure of Christ being rejected from the United States on account of being an immigrant.
Vatican City
PHOTO: AFP
Pope Leo said in a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn should remind Christians that refusing to help the poor and strangers today is tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, December 24, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS
India
Santa brings joy to the onlookers at Chennai’s VGP Marine Kingdom, a walk-through underwater aquarium. PHOTO: AFP
Santa on a motorcycle at a Christmas rally for children with disabilities in Bengaluru, India’s fourth-largest city. PHOTO: AFP
Syria
Security has tightened in Damascus during the festivities. A soldier can be seen patrolling a Christian neighbourhood here. PHOTO: AFP
Brazil
Santa brings Christmas closer to the remote communities in the Amazon rainforest, carrying gifts for the children in one of the communities, Careiro da Varzea. PHOTO: AFP
Gautemala
This Santa is a firefighter by day in the Guatemalan capital, but today he is going to great lengths to deliver gifts to children. PHOTO: AFP
Cuba
Unlike most Christmas scenes depicting winter, Christmas in Havana is filled with sunlight reflecting off of inflatable snowmen and reindeer. PHOTO: AFP
South Africa
Not only do people decorate trees in Johannesburg, but their cars as well, as a form of aesthetic irony, but also an expression of joy materialising in non-traditional ways. PHOTO: AFP
Finland
Christmas in Rovaniemi, a Finnish city of 65,000 inhabitants, only a few kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, depicts a classic Christmas scene with the snow, the reindeer, and the warmth of festivities. PHOTO: AFP