CHRISTMAS ALBUM: Tis the season to be jolly!

At St Peter's Basilica in Rome, Pope Francis celebrated his first Christmas Eve mass since becoming pontiff.

Thousands thronged the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem where Jesus is said to have been born.

A storm wreaked havoc in Britain and France, but that did not dampen the spirits of revelers. Here’s a look at Christmas celebrations from across the world.  

A water skier dressed as Santa is joined by a man dressed as a reindeer as they ski in the Potomac River at National Harbor to celebrate Christmas in Maryland.

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A general view shows Manger Square, near the Church of Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, during Christmas celebrations in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

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Pope Francis kisses the baby Jesus statue as he leads the Christmas night mass in the Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. This was his first mass since becoming pontiff.

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People attend a Christmas Eve mass at St. Paul's Cathedral in Kolkata.

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A Bondi lifeguard performs a hand-stand in front of a giant Christmas Tree at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Bondi Beach has long been a popular place for tourists and Australians alike to celebrate a hot Christmas Day.

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A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume hands out balloons to spectators at a Christmas parade at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

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Children dressed in Santa Claus costumes pose in front of a sand sculpture featuring Jesus Christ and Santa Claus created by artist Sudarshan Pattnaik as part of Christmas celebrations on a beach in Puri, Odisha.

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A man holds a cat wearing a Santa Claus costume at San Francisco Square during Christmas celebrations in La Paz.

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People gather at San Francisco Square in front of a Christmas tree, in La Paz.

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A Chinese couple participates in a kissing competition to celebrate Christmas in Wuhan, Hubei province. The competition required the attendants to kiss in different postures for a prize worth 15,000 Yuan, local media reported.

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Victims of super Typhoon Haiyan decorate their improvised Christmas tree with empty cans and bottles at the ravaged town of Anibong, Tacloban city, central Philippines, a month after the super storm battered central Philippines.

Haiyan reduced almost everything in its path to rubble when it swept ashore in the central Philippines on November 8, killing at least 6,069 people, leaving 1,779 missing and 4 million either homeless or with damaged homes.

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Passersby look at a house in the Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn lit up with Christmas decorations in New York.

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Deliveryman Vinny Ambrosino prepares to deliver packages on Christmas Eve while wearing a Rudolf nose and antlers in New York.

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Faith Callion, 8, smiles as she sits with Santa Claus at the Los Angeles Mission's Christmas meal service and toy giveaway at skid row in Los Angeles, California.

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A man stands alone at London Bridge Station after numerous trains were cancelled due to storms in London. Disrupted transport networks and power cuts wreaked havoc in Britain and France on Tuesday, one of the busiest travel and shopping days of the year just before Christmas, after hurricane-force winds and torrential rain lashed the region.