It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Now that December is here, Santa Claus and his many helpers are beginning to make appearances around the world. In anticipation of Christmas Day -- barely more than three weeks away -- people are decorating homes and town squares, gathering in churches and markets, and shopping for trees and gifts. Gathered below are recent images of this Christmas season, from London to Australia, and many places between.
Santa Claus, portayed by Frank Knorre, poses in Berlin, Germany, on November 3, 2011. Knorre was taking part in a seasonal fundraiser for social programs in Germany. (Michael Gottschalk/AP Photo)
A woman takes picture in front of a Christmas tree during a lighting ceremony in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, on December 1, 2011.(Reuters/Stoyan Nenov)
Volunteer Santas and angels attend their annual meeting at the Komoedie am Kurfuerstedamm theater in Berlin, Germany, on November 26, 2011. The event was organized by Studentenwerk Berlin, a student organization at the city's technical university (Technische Universitaet Berlin), that sends out between 400 and 500 students and alumni dressed as Santas and angels every year to visit company parties in December and families on Christmas Eve. The students, who must complete a Santa workshop, participate as a way to make a little money to help fund their studies. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
A bungee jumper dressed as Santa Claus leaps from a platform above Kuta beach, Denpasar, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, on December 2, 2011. (Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty Images)
Woodcarver Heinrich Zwink carves a figurine in the shape of a shepherd for a Christmas crèche at his workshop on December 1, 2011 in Oberammergau, Germany. Oberammergau woodcarving tradition, which is the most famous in Bavaria, has its roots in the 12th century, though Zwink and his colleagues from the St.Luke's guild, the Oberammergau woodcarvers association deplore the decline of the tradition both due to a lack of a new generation of woodcarvers as well as competition from wood figurine factories in northern Italy and Asia. In Oberammergau approximately 50 woodcarvers still churn out figurines of mostly religious motifs throughout the year.(Johannes Simon/Getty Images)
Leona Butler, 3, walks among this year's crop of mistletoe at the annual Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Auction, on November 29, 2011, in Tenbury Wells, England. Ancient druids believed mistletoe had magical properties because of the way it grows, never touching the ground and without taking nourishment from the earth. Tenbury Wells has been the traditional mistletoe capital for over 150 years. Druids blessed this year's crop before buyers put their bids in for the festive plant. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas comes from the belief that mistletoe aids fertility. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Christmas shoppers browse the offerings at the Bath Christmas Market on its opening night, on November 24, 2011 in Bath, England. Originating in Germany, Christmas markets have become increasingly popular in British cities too, as a way of boosting festive retail sales and visitor numbers. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Customers shop at Macy's department store in New York, on November 25, 2011. Stores looking to grab as big a piece as possible of what is expected to be a middling holiday shopping season pushed post-Thanksgiving openings into Thursday evening, getting an early start on "Black Friday," the traditional start to the U.S. holiday shopping season. (Reuters/Eric Thayer)
In a long-exposure photo, the interior of Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by trails of candles carried by choristers during the annual "darkness to light" advent procession in Salisbury, England, on November 25, 2011. 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, 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 and is a spectacular start to the Christmas season. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Santa Claus tells Josiah Romero, 3, that he's been a good boy this year after receiving a bicycle from Speedway Children's Charity during the Annual Tree Lighting and Speedway Children's Charity Ceremony at Texas Motor Speedway, on November 29, 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas. The charity gave away 100 bicycles and surpassed the $8 million mark in grants distributed since its inception in 1997.(Brandon Wade/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
A vendor serves hot wine at the traditional Christkindelsmaerik (Christ Child market) near Strasbourg Cathedral, on November 27, 2011. Held annually since 1570, Strasbourg's Christ Child Market, known as the oldest French Christmas market, started last Saturday. The sign above reads "Mulled wine". (Reuters/Vincent Kessler)
Mothers decorate a Christmas tree at Hostel Domus Alipio in Mexico City, on November 30, 2011. Hostel Domus Alipio, run by Catholic priest Luis Figueroa and a group of volunteers, provides shelter, medication and therapy to orphans as well as women and children from low-income families affected by HIV and AIDS. (Reuters/Carlos Jasso)
A Christmas tree, made up of 276 teddy bears, is displayed as part of a promotional event for the upcoming Christmas at Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, on December 1, 2011. Many South Korean companies take advantage of the Christmas to promote their business amid weak sales and economic slowdown. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Nelson's Column is silhouetted against the night sky behind the Christmas tree during the lighting ceremony in Trafalgar Square in London, on December 1, 2011. The 46-year-old Norwegian Spruce tree was carefully selected by The Mayor of Oslo and The Lord Mayor of Westminster. The annual gift from the city of Oslo is a token of gratitude for the assistance given to Norway from 1940 to 1945.(Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)
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