Pope Francis kneels as he celebrates the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Photo: AP)
Young girls buy Christmas cards ahead of Christmas day celebrations (Photo: AP)
An artist dressed as Santa Claus distributes gifts to children during the celebrations ahead of Christmas in Bikaner
A man dressed as Santa Claus sits on a horse cart with a child during a Christmas carnival in Mumbai (Photo: AP)
Girls wear Santa Claus hats and pose for a photograph during a Christmas carnival in Mumbai (Photo: AP)
Students dressed as Santa Claus participate in Christmas celebrations at a school in Jammu (Photo: AP)
Children participate in a drawing and colouring competition to mark former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday in Mumbai (Photo: PTI)
An artist dressed as Santa Claus performs on stage during Christmas celebrations in Gurgaon (Photo: PTI)
People watch sand sculpture on the eve of Christmas at Puri beach (Photo: PTI)
People light candles outside the Sacred Heart Cathedral on the eve of Christmas Day in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)
Indian Christians light candles at a Sacred Heart Cathedral on the eve of Christmas in New Delhi (Photo: AP)
Christmas decorations and related items hang for sale at a market in Mumbai (Photo: AP)
A man dressed as Santa Claus inside the Catholic Church on the eve of Christmas in Shimla (Photo: PTI)
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 (Photo: AP)
Children watch as diver Mark Lane, dressed as Scuba Santa Claus, descends into the 212,000 gallon Philippine Coral Reef tank at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco (Photo: AP)
A man dressed as Santa Claus lights flares as he stands on a boat in Imperia, near Genoa, Italy (Photo: AP)
A woman shops for Christmas decoration items in central Baghdad, Iraq (Photo: AP)
Liberian men shop for a Christmas tree at a shop in Monrovia, Liberia (Photo: AP)
A Pakistani Christian boy dresses as Santa Claus as he takes part in a special prayer for victims killed in last Tuesday's Taliban attack on a military-run school, in Lahore, Pakistan (Photo: AP)
Pakistani vendor Maqbool Mashi sells Santa Claus balloons ahead of Christmas in Lahore, Pakistan (Photo: AP)
Cardinals pray as the statue of baby Jesus is visible in foreground, during the Christmas Eve Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Photo: AP)
Pope Francis kisses a statue of Baby Jesus as he celebrates the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Photo: AP)