Photos of how Christmas is celebrated around the world

Christmas around the world is celebrated by families with traditions both old and new, from a tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem first american popeThe request for “24 hours of peace.”

Billions around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth with various customs, many choosing to focus on familyjoy and prayer, even in a world shaken by mass shootings, ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and crises around the world.

Below are scenes from Christmas 2025 around the world, from Bethlehem to Beijing.

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

Religious freedom conditions in the Southeast Asian country have deteriorated amid the ongoing civil war, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. More than 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 watch the city’s bell ringing on Christmas Eve. According to National Geographic, Germany typically hosts between 2,500 and 3,000 holiday markets a year.

While some religious devotees attend Christmas Eve mass, a polar bear mascot entertains guests in Beijing. About 20 million Chinese citizens (2% of the population) are Christians, a figure that has stabilized in recent years, according to a 2023 analysis by the Pew Research Center.

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

According to the Pew Research Center, there are around 28 million Christians in India. A church in Ahmedabad, India, is illuminated on Christmas Eve.

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

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem leads an annual 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 to be held since the war in gaza started in 2023.

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

In Indonesia, Catholics dressed in traditional Javanese costumes wait to attend a Christmas Eve mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ganjuran, Yogyakarta. Three popes have visited the Catholic population in Indonesia, Vatican News said.