With only a few days left until Christmas, lighted displays, colorful markets, and Santa's helpers are out in force. From Europe to the Americas and Asia, gathered here as an early gift to you, is a collection of holiday cheer and light wrapped up in 30 photographs.
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
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Michael Grant, 28, "Philly Jesus," adjusts Christmas ornaments with his walking staff at Rittenhouse Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 14, 2014. Nearly every day for the last 8 months, Grant has dressed as Jesus Christ and walked the streets of Philadelphia to share the Christian gospel by example. He quickly acquired the nickname of "Philly Jesus," which he has gone by ever since. #
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Santa Claus rides a crowded subway train in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 5, 2014. This Santa says he'll ride the city's subway trains all month to celebrate the Christmas season. #
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Tian Tian, a giant panda prepares to eat a special Christmas panda cake crafted in the shape of a Christmas tree in the outdoor enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland, on December 17, 2014. #
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Thousands of runners in Father Christmas suits pose for a group photo after completing an annual Santa fun run from Darling Harbour to the Sydney Opera House on December 7, 2014. The annual event is held each year as a fundraiser to assist disadvantaged children with equipment and programs to help them live a fuller life. #
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The Batista do Meier Church choir performs during the 4th edition of Christmas Choir in windows of their church building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 19, 2014. #
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People take pictures inside a giant Christmas ball, part of New Year and Christmas holiday season decorations, in central Moscow, on December 15, 2014. The 11.5-meter (38-foot) high ball claims a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Christmas toy in the world, according to local media. #
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Townspeople and a giant Santa Claus created by local artist Ed Terrell, attend a ceremony to decorate a scraggly Christmas tree in Reading, Pennsylvania, on December 7, 2014. A ceremony to decorate the scraggly Christmas tree in Reading with a single red bulb, much like Charlie Brown's tree in the animated holiday classic, was postponed because of rain and cold temperatures, officials said. #
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A minority Pakistani Christian woman lights candles before a pre-Christmas Sunday service where they prayed for the victims of the Peshawar school massacre, in Lahore on December 21, 2014. #
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A member of the Amigos do Papai Noel (Friends of Santa Claus group) dressed as Santa Claus talks to children before giving out gifts to them at the community Sao Jose in Careiro da Varzea of Amazonas State, located along the Amazon River bank where the Ribeirinhos (forest dwellers) live, on December 20, 2014. The volunteers of Friends of Santa Claus group have been distributing Christmas gifts to people living in the area since 1998. #
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Vitor Martins displays one of his Christmas tattoos inside his house, before a performance with children in Sao Caetano do Sul's town square, near Sao Paulo, on December 7, 2014. Martins has dressed as Santa Claus, working at shopping centers and various events, for fifteen years, and has 94 percent of his body covered in tattoos, with several in reference to Christmas. #
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Guatemalan firefighter Hector Chacon, wearing a Santa Claus outfit, rappels down the Belize bridge to give toys to children living under the bridge, in Guatemala City, on December 21, 2014. #
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Visitors look at Christmas ornaments at a Christmas market in Vienna, Austria, on December 14, 2014. The center of the old Habsburg empire treats locals and visitors to quaint Christmas markets featuring crafts and decorations, hot punch and baked goods in all the city's main squares. #
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A woman and child enjoy the lights at a country house estate in the village of Grabovnica near Cazma, central Croatia, on December 19, 2014. The estate owned by the Salaj family is lit with 1.5 million Christmas lights and turns into a winter wonderland every December, attracting thousands of visitors. #
Reuters/Antonio Bronic
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