Photos of ways Christmas is celebrated all around the world

Christmas around the world is being celebrated by families with traditions both old and new — from a tree lightingceremony in Bethlehem to thefirst American pope‘s request for “24 hours of peace.”

Billions worldwide mark the birth of Jesus of Nazareth with various customs, many choose to focus on family, joy and prayer — even in a world roiled by mass shootings, continuing conflict in Ukraineand crises around the globe.

Here is a look at scenes of Christmas 2025 worldwide from Bethlehem to Beijing.

Christians attend prayer on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, at St. Mary Cathedral in Yangon, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Religious freedom conditions in the Southeast Asian country have deteriorated amidst ongoing civil war, according to a report from the U.S. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Over 3.4 million people were displaced, including 320,000 Christians and one million Rohingya Muslim refugees.

People gather at Römerberg square in Frankfurt, Germany to attend the city’s bell ringing on Christmas Eve. There are usually 2,500 to 3,000 holiday markets a year in Germany, accordingto National Geographic.

As some religious devotees attend the Christmas Eve mass, a polar bear mascot entertains guests in Beijing. Around 20 million Chinese nationals — 2% of the population — are Christians, a number that has stabilized in recent years, according to a 2023 analysis by Pew Research Center.

In Helen’s Bay, Northern Ireland, hundreds of people brave icy cold waters for the annual Christmas Eve swim. These swimmers are frolicking in the Belfast Lough to raise money for charities Dementia NI and Air Ambulance NI.

There are about 28 million Christians in India, according to the Pew Research Center. A church in Ahmedabad, India, is illuminated on Christmas Eve.

Ukrainian servicemen attend a parade on Orthodox Christmas Eve in downtown Lviv, Ukraine. Since Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian leader Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, Ukrainians have celebrated their holiday while in conflict.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem leads a yearly Christmas procession outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Thousands of people traveled from nearby towns and villages to attend the ceremony, the first one held sincethe war in Gazabegan in 2023.

In Iraq, people attend a Christmas Eve service at the Monastery of the Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah, belonging to the Syriac Catholics in the town of Qaraqosh. The monastery is one of the oldest Christian monuments in Iraq, and dates to the 4th century, although some buildings are medieval. It was badly damaged by ISIS in 2015.

In Indonesia, Catholics wearing traditional Javanese attire wait to attend a Christmas Eve Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Ganjuran, Yogyakarta. Three popes have visitedthe Catholic population in Indonesia, the Vatican News said.