Swiss guards take their positions in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican as tens of thousands gathered for the pope’s Christmas message. (Alessandra Tarantino / Associated Press)
Children carry a snake made of rags and paper mache as they take part in the dance of “Los Gigantes,” or “The Giants,” during Christmas celebrations in Antigua, Guatemala. (Moises Castillo / Associated Press)
Pakistani vendor Maqbool Mashi sells Santa Claus balloons in Lahore. (K.M. Chaudary / Associated Press)
Priests and clergy attend the Christmas midnight Mass at the Cathedral-Basilical in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Mindaugas Kulbis / Associated Press)
University students in traditional Chinese outfits hold banners reading “Resist Christmas, Chinese people should not celebrate foreign festivals,” in Changsha, central China’s Hunan province. (AFP/Getty Images)
Indian Christians participate in a candlelit Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Paul’s Church in Kolkata. (AFP/Getty Images)
Beneath the Church of the Nativity, Christians pray in a cave where the Virgin Mary is believed to have given birth to Jesus during a Christmas midnight Mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (Ammar Awad / AFP/Getty Images)
