2013 Christmas Celebrations Across The World

 
An 82-foot-tall Christmas tree from Bavaria, Germany, lights up St. Peter’s Square, next to St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican

In Bethlehem, a Palestinian college student is credidted with as one of the last keepers of a fading tradition - ringing the bells of Bethlehem.

Twice a week, Khadir Jaraiseh climbs to the roof of the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born. He pulls the ropes of four bells in a rooftop tower for a total of 33 times to symbolize the number of years Jesus was believed to have lived.
Jaraiseh rings the bells for prayer services of the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of three denominations that administer the basilica, one of Christianity's holiest shrines. The Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox denominations at the Nativity church - each of which has its own set of bells - have switched to automatic bell-ringing.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/happy-holidays-happy-christmas-google-wishes-with-doodle/1/332654.html

A man from Lapland, Finland dressed as Santa Claus poses outside city hall to celebrate the upcoming Christmas in downtown of Seoul, South Korea

 Children pose for photos with Christmas decorations at a shopping mall in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 The Richards family reclaimed their world record by stringing up more than half a million Christmas lights around their home in suburban Canberra, Australia. Guinness World Records official Chris Sheedy confirmed on Nov. 25, 2013, that they had the most Christmas lights on a residential property with 502,165 twinkling bulbs

A Christmas tree  floats in Lagoa Lake during the annual holiday tree lighting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A giant Santa Claus sits in his sleigh on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France

People walk along the Christmas Fair in front of the Mariendom (Cathedral of Mary) and St. Severi’s Church in Erfurt, Germany

 An illuminated boat—an old Greek symbol—decorates Athens’ Syntagma Square in front of the Greek parliament

People gather to watch Christmas Illuminations in Tokyo, Japan

 Christmas illuminations at Tokyo’s Shiodome District

Giant inflatable puppets by the French street theatre company Les Plasticiens Volant hover over a square in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Christmas illuminations light up Royal Treaty Street in Warsaw, Poland

Children dressed up as Santa Claus ride a rickshaw to their school to participate in Christmas celebrations in Patiala,Punjab,India

School children dressed up as Santa Claus celebrate Christmas in Moradabad,India

People dressed as Santa Claus ride a horse cart ahead of Christmas celebrations in Lahore, Pakistan