Decorated trees, lit buildings, and Father Christmas in Beijing, China.

A woman wearing a niqab is photographed alongside a shop selling Christmas decorations in Cairo’s Shubra neighbourhood. Photograph: Odd Andersen, AFP.

An underwater Father Christmas in Malaysia, 2010.

The Bolshoi Theatre at Christmas, Moscow, Russia.

A Nigerian woman prays on the beach at Lagos, Christmas Day 2011. Photograph: Reuters.

The Apollo Theatre, 125th Street, Harlem, New York, illuminated for Christmas.

In Chandigarh, India, little schoolchildren dressed as Santa Claus sing Jingle Bells (and do the actions!). Photo: Reuters.