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Christmas observances around the world From Nativity scenes full of angels to dressing up as demons, the Christian celebration of Jesus’s birth takes many forms.
Dec. 3, 2011
Members of the Fellowship Bible Church youth group portray angels during the Follow the Star living Nativity show presented by the church at the Kernstown Battlefield in Winchester, Va.
Jeff Taylor
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AP
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Dec. 6, 2011
Volunteers dressed as St. Nicholas and an angel distribute chocolates at the Charlottenburg Christmas market in Berlin.
Sean Gallup
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Getty Images
Dec. 18, 2011
Mary-Sarah Dean, Emily Walsh and Emily Frew, dressed as angels, wait for their cue during a traditional Christmas Nativity at a church in England.
Bethany Clarke
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Getty Images
Dec. 11, 2011
Deacon Jonathan Jackson, right, and Dorothea Roundtree, as Santa and Mrs. Claus, arrive to applause as the Master's Child Church fulfills the Christmas wishes of needy families associated with the Naylor Road shelter in District Heights.
Bill O'Leary
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The Washington Post
Dec. 11, 2011
One-year-old Tyre Williams isn't quite sure what to make of Santa Claus (Jonathan Jackson) and Mrs. Claus (Dorothea Roundtree) as the Master's Child Church grants Christmas wishes for needy families associated with the Naylor Road shelter in District Heights.
Bill O'Leary
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The Washington Post
Dec. 6, 2011
Nativity enthusiast Charles Sammut places cherub figurines on a Neapolitan crib being set up at Palazzo Ferreria in Valletta, Malta, which houses the Ministry of Education, as part of its Christmas decorations.
Darrin Zammit Lupi
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Reuters
Dec. 6, 2011
The sorbs, a Slavic people living as a minority in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg, have their own Christmas customs.Here, traditionally dressed sorb girls attend a kindergarten in Schleife, in eastern Germany. Following a sorb tradition, the veiled Christ child brings luck for the coming year in caressing cheeks with its white gloves during Advent season.
Arno Burgi
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 4, 2011
Members of the Koatlacker Devils Association dressed as demonic creatures take part in a Krampus, or demon, procession in Prad, Italy. According to the tradition, the devils accompany St. Nicholas when he visits little children to determine who has been good or bad. The tradition is still practiced in Austria, southern Germany and the South Tyrol region of northern Italy.
Johannes Simon
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Getty Images
Nov. 25, 2011
Franziska Handke, center, dressed as the Nuremberg Christ Child, stands at the balcony of the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, during the opening of the traditional Christmas Market in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, Germany.
Christof Stache
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 13, 2011
Children touch the wings of a man dressed as an angel and holding a sign that reads "Christmas with Jesus is happiness" in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Members of the Christian church Psalm 100 regularly dress as angels holding signs with religious messages for passersby to read.
Jose Luis Gonzalez
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Reuters
Dec. 3, 2011
Jesus's birth is reenacted during the annual live Nativity at the Van Orsdel United Methodist Church in Havre, Mont.
Nikki Carlson
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AP
Dec. 5, 2011
Evangel Cathedral in Upper Marlboro performs its annual Christmas celebration, which included an elaborate stage production with live animals, a laser light show and a cast of more than 200.
Hamil R. Harris / The Washington Post
Dec. 11, 2011
A Christian woman lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the site of Jesus Christ's birth, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Tourists from around the world are expected to flock to Jesus's traditional birthplace to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Musa al-Shaer
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 12, 2011
A Palestinian carpenter makes a wooden cross at a workshop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where Christian pilgrims prepare to gather in the traditional birthplace of Jesus to celebrate Christmas.
Musa al-Shaer
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 11, 2011
A nun prays at the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the site of Jesus Christ's birth, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Musa al-Shaer
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 10, 2011
German Bundeswehr soldiers watch a rehearsal of the "Nativity of Jesus" in the camp of the International Security Assistance Force in Kunduz, Afghanistan. A group of ISAF soldiers, led by the military chaplain, will perform an adaptation of the accounts of the New Testament for their fellow soldiers during Christmas celebrations.
Thomas Peter
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Reuters
Nov. 26, 2011
Residents and tourists mark the start of Advent, next to the Nativity scene made of ice, in Graz, Austria.The Nativity scene is handmade by ice sculptor Gert J. Hoedl and his international team. They have been creating the ice-sculpture Nativity for the start of Advent every year since 1996, with variations in details, and say it's the biggest one in the world.
Darko Bandic
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AP
Dec. 18, 2011
Matilda Mollon, 3, prepares to play a shepherd during a traditional Christmas Nativity at a church in England.
Bethany Clarke
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Getty Images
Dec. 18, 2011
Children wait for their cue during a traditional Christmas Nativity at a church in England.
Bethany Clarke
/
Getty Images
Riders dressed as soldiers of the Russian army in the times of the French invasion of Russia in 1812 perform during Russian Orthodox Christmas celebrations in St. Petersburg. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world.
Dmitry Lovetsky
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AP
Jan. 7, 2011
A man is licked by his horse after an annual race organized by Orthodox believers on Epiphany Day in the Romanian village of Pietrosani.
Bogdan Cristel
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Reuters
Dec. 19, 2011
A Hindu man writes "Happy Christmas" in Hindi on his forehead on the banks of the Ganges river in the northern Indian city of Allahabad.
Jitendra Prakash
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Reuters
Nov. 27, 2011
Choristers walk into position as they prepare to sing at the Advent Carol Service at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England.
Kieran Doherty
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Reuters
Nov. 27, 2011
Choristers sing during the Advent Carol Service at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England.
Kieran Doherty
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Reuters
Dec. 8, 2011
The Vatican Christmas tree frames Pope Benedict XVI as he leads his Angelus prayer from the window of his private apartment at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.
Max Rossi
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Reuters
Dec. 17, 2011
Vikki Hill stands for hours a day holding a placard for people approaching what remains of the Christmas display in Santa Monica, Calif. An unseasonably raucous debate has erupted between Christians and atheists in this oceanfront city, as unbelievers stand accused of usurping the decades-old Christmas tradition by overwhelming a traditional Christmas display with atheist displays.
Frederic J. Brown
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 16, 2011
The head of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Ja Seung, third from right on the front row; Catholic priest Lee Jeong-Joo, second from left; and other Catholics and Buddhists applaud during an event to light Christmas trees at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul. The Buddhist temple installed Christmas trees to promote peace and understanding between religions, according to the temple.
Lee Jae-Won
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Reuters
Dec. 12, 2011
Two-year-old Ruben Lucas of Australia and his great grandmother Dot Brown look at a display showing the Nativity scene in Palisades Park in Santa Monica, Calif.
Danny Moloshok
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Reuters
Dec. 18, 2011
A Palestinian boy dressed as Santa Claus attends a celebration ahead of Christmas at Deir al-Latin Church in Gaza City.
Ismail Zaydah
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Reuters
Dec. 20, 2011
Christmas crib artist Luigi Cesarini works on a piece in Via San Gregorio Armeno in Naples, Italy, which hosts many artisans who make world renowed handcrafted Nativity scenes. Via San Gregorio Armeno is usually bustling at this time of year as Italians and tourists come for brightly painted figurines, from the Mary and Child, to the Angel Gabriel, to the richly robed Three Wise Men.
Carlo Hermann
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 20, 2011
A Nativity scene with clay figures is displayed to celebrate Christmas in Remanso, Paraguay.
Jorge Adorno
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Reuters
Dec. 21, 2011
Christian pilgrims pray at the Grotto in the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
Menahem Kahana
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2011
A nun stands with Christmas trees that were distributed by the municipality near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City.
Ammar Awad
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Reuters
Dec. 5, 2011
Revelers dressed as Saint Nicholas and a devil look at a child at the Old Town Square in Prague. The revelers approached children on the streets as part of a tradition to determine whether they had behaved well during the past year. Depending on their answers, the kids would receive presents such as sweets or coal.
David W. Cerny
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Reuters
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