Rudolf with a water-skiing Santa Claus performing on the Potomac River

A Palestinian vendor sells balloons and Christmas hats at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas eve in the West Bank town of Bethlehem

In the West Bank town of Bethlehem celebrations were held at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus.

Thousands of tourists and Christian Arabs took to the streets, along with the annual Scouts parade and a protest by workers against mass layoffs.

Along the coast of Valparaiso city, about 75 miles northwest of Santiago, in Chile, fishermen organised a Santa Claus boat trip as people waited on the shore to receive their Christmas presents and well-wishes.

In Baghdad, Iraq, behind blast walls and with police nearby, 200 worshipers attended Christmas mass at the city's Our Lady of Salvation Church, which officially reopened this month after a massacre in 2010.

Police stand guard outside a Church as Christians celebrate Christmas, in Peshawar, Pakistan

Santa Claus was spotted arriving to Maui on an outrigger canoe wearing an Aloha shirt on Christmas Eve

A nativity set is surrounded by lumineers, placed as a memorial for those killed in the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

People admire the crib in St Peter's Square in the Vatican after the unveiling ceremony

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