Ho Ho Ho: Christmas celebrated around the world

 Pakistani vendor Maqbool Mashi sells Santa Claus balloons ahead of Christmas in Lahore, Pakisdtan (AP)

 Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik (C) give the final touches to his sand sculpture depicting Jesus Christ and Santa Claus on Golden Sea Beach at Puri, some 65kms from Bhubaneswar. Despite Christians forming a little over 2 percent of the billion plus population in India, with Hindus comprising the majority, Christmas is celebrated with much fanfare and zeal throughout the country. AFP

 An Iraqi Christian boy, who fled the violence in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, poses for a photo wearing a Father Christmas hat in the grounds of Mar Elia Chaldean Catholic Church, where many displaced Christians have erected tents, in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. For many faithful across the region, the Christmas festivities will be tinged with sadness following a year of bloodshed marked by a surge in the persecution of Christians that has drawn international condemnation. AFP

 A child (R) walks past a three-dimensional art painting featuring Santa Claus, entitled "Santa's Christmas Gift", presented by the interactive art museum "Art in Island" in Manila, as another (L) poses for a photo. The Philippines is the largest Christian country in Asia and has one of the longest Christmas seasons in the world, lasting from December 16 to January 6. AFP

 A child (back R) poses for a photo at a Christmas display in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong. Christmas and Boxing Day - December 26 - are holidays in the southern Chinese city, with many tourists visiting to see the festive decorations and Christmas lights that adorn the harbor front buildings. AFP

 Pakistani minority Christians decorate a Christmas tree in Karachi. Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim and at around two percent of the population, Christians are among the country's most marginalised citizens. AFP

 A Palestinian girl dressed in a costume with "Santa's princess" joins a Christmas Eve celebration at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus was born, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Christian pilgrims from around the world have begun to gather in the biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. (AP)

 A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus holds balloons at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. (AP)

 An Indonesian man dressed as Santa Claus hands out gifts to child travelers as part of Christmas celebrations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia.(AP)

 People walk past a  giant luminous figure of Santa Claus, installed during Christmas  holidays, in Marseille, southern France.(AP)

 A staff wearing a Super Mario Brother costume made of balloons is led by his colleague as they walk among customers during a promotional event to celebrate Christmas, at a department store in Beijing. REUTERS

People watch Christmas celebrations outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered by Christians as Jesus' birthplace, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. REUTERS

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