Santa, candles, communion: Christmas in photos from around the world

Participants dressed as Santa Claus take part in the annual Christmas city race in Skopje, North Macedonia.

A boy lights a candle before a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary during the Christmas eve midnight mass at the Syriac Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 25, 2022.

Pope Francis delivering his Christmas Urbi et Orbi ("to the city and the world") blessing, as he stands on the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square at The Vatican in a handout picture taken and released on December 25, 2022 by Vatican Media.

Young worshippers sit with Christmas-themed hats as they attend the Christmas eve midnight mass at the Syriac Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 25, 2022.

An Orthodox Christian believer prays during a Christmas mass in the golden-domed Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria.

An Iranian youth takes a picture outside a shop selling Christmas trees in the capital Tehran on December 25, 2022.

A worshipper lights candles at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on Christmas Day on December 25, 2022.

Couples take selfies on a street with Christmas lights in Tokyo, Japan on December 25, 2022.

Participants jump into the water during the 113th edition of the Copa Nadal (Christmas Cup) swimming race in Port Vell in Barcelona, Spain on December 25, 2022. The traditional 200-meter Christmas swimming race attracted around 300 participants.

Worshippers pray during the Christmas Mass in Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, aka Latin Cathedral, in western Ukrainian city of Lviv on December 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A worshipper prays during the Christmas Mass in the Ascension of the Lord Cathedral in Kherson, southern Ukraine, on December 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Christian devotees take part in a Christmas prayer at the St.John's Cathedral Church in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Women worshippers chant during the Christmas morning mass at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province.

Venezuelan migrants seeking asylum in the United States warm up around a campfire in a makeshift camp on Christmas Eve in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on December 24, 2022.

A nun prays during the Christmas eve mass at the Chaldean Catholic Church of St George in the town of Alqosh, 50 kilometres north of Iraq's northern city of Mosul on December 24, 2022.