People take to the sea at Helen's Bay, Northern Ireland, for the annual Christmas Eve swim in the cold waters in Belfast Lough to raise money for Dementia NI & Air Ambulance NI, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
People gather at Roemerberg square to attend the city's bell ringing on Christmas Eve in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A polar bear mascot takes a ride in a lift during a break from entertaining guests on the eve of Christmas in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Christians attend prayer on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, at St. Mary Cathedral in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Catholic clergy walk in procession next to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, is received by local community while crossing an Israeli military checkpoint from Jerusalem ahead of celebrations at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
People hold electric candles as they sing during a Christmas Eve service at Indonesia Arena stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Children celebrate Christmas Eve in the southern Lebanese border village of Alma al-Shaab, near the Israeli border, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
People drive up to the top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, to join the traditional Christmas Eve meeting of tractor and motorbike drivers early Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A piece of meat is thrown to the buyer in the crowd during the annual Christmas Eve meat auction at Smithfield Market in London, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ukrainian servicemen attend a parade on Orthodox Christmas eve in downtown Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)
People wearing traditional Ukrainian clothes sign carols on the Christmas Eve at a subway station in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
Wearing Santa Claus costumes, children watch the 40th annual Christmas parade heading towards the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A man walks past an illuminated church on the eve of Christmas in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A child runs with a traditional vaca loca, or crazy cow, during Christmas celebrations in Quingeo, Ecuador, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Audio By Carbonatix
11:16 AM on Wednesday, December 24
By The Associated Press
From Bethlehem to Beijing, people around the world are celebrating the Christmas season. A polar bear mascot boards an elevator during holiday revelry. Swimmers plunge into frigid waters off Northern Ireland for a charity event. Singers fill a stadium in Indonesia.
Associated Press photographers have captured diverse, mesmerizing images such as these as they chronicle a holiday period abounding in joy, reverence and dazzling lights.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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