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 CHRISTMAS SEASON 2023 

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go," says Canadian singer and songwriter Michael Buble in his beautiful Christmas song. It is the case this year, as Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. While it is joyous in many locations, the mood is quite different in other places, where the effects of ongoing conflict there continue to dampen spirits. It's a mixed bag.

Take a look at this pictorial collection of the Christmas mood around the world.
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In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni and the First Lady, Janet Museveni, on Sunday get set to depart for their country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhura district, where they will spend the Christmas holiday.

In central England, Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) mascots wearing Christmas hats walk on the pitch prior to the English Premier League football match between Wolves and Chelsea at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton on Sunday.

In Switzerland, lake-goers wearing Santa Claus hats bathe and have a drink in an 8° Celsius Geneva Lake at the 'Bains des Paquis' public bath downtown Geneva on Christmas Eve.

In Ukraine, people sing carols as they take part in Christmas Eve celebration in Lviv, on December 24, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainians prepare to celebrate Christmas Day on December 25 for the first time, after the government changed the date from the Orthodox Church observance of January 7 in a snub to Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian servicemen hold "didukh", bunches of wheat to symbolize sacrifice and taste traditional doughnuts during Christmas Eve celebration in Lviv.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (C) arrives for Christmas Eve celebrations (according to Western tradition) at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on Christmas Eve.

In Indonesia, anti-terror police squad checks security at a Catholic church.

In the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian youth members of the scouting movement hold up banners condemning and calling for an end of the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas movement during a procession welcoming the arrival of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem for Christmas Eve celebrations (according to Western tradition).

This aerial view shows the scene at the Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on Christmas Eve (according to Western tradition).

A girl stands with an inflatable Father Christmas (Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus) doll at the Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

In China, a man poses for pictures next to a inflatable Santa Claus on a street in the Jing'an district in Shanghai.

Also in Shanghai, a woman wearing a Christmas costume poses for pictures for her friends on a street in the Jing'an.

In India, a scuba diver dressed as Santa Claus performs at the Marine Aquarium on the eve of Christmas celebrations in Chennai.

In Japan, a member of a vintage car group Hiroyuki Wada, dressed as Santa Claus, holds a bag of  Christmas presents in front of his 1959 Cadillac in Tokyo's Marunouchi area on Christmas Eve.

Also in Tokyo, dogs in festive costumes are seen on a street in the Marunouchi area.

In China, people attend Christmas mass at the Xishiku Catholic Church in the capital Beijing.

In the German city of Hamburg, Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, acting chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), reads the Christmas story and sings Christmas carols with visitors at the Diakonie day centre for homeless people.

In New Zealand, Southern White Rhinos are approaching boxes of Christmas treats during the 13th annual Christmas cracker event at Orana Wildlife Park on the outskirts of Christchurch. The park is New Zealand's only open range zoo and is home to over 1,000 animals from more than 90 different species, including New Zealand's only gorillas.

In Japan, Sapporo Factory is crowded with visitors and customers during the 30th anniversary Christmas in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The 15-meter-tall Christmas tree is decorated with 50,000 Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs.

In Bangladesh, Christmas decorations are displayed ahead of Christmas in Dhaka.

In southern Italy, pipers play in San Gregorio Armeno street, a narrow street often called the street of nativity workshops or Christmas Alley, in Naples.

In France, a couple dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs Santa Claus rides a motorbike ahead of Christmas celebrations in Paris.

In Slovakia, Andrea (L) and her daughters use head lamps and candles as they prepare the traditional Christmas' potato salad during a power outage ahead of Christmas celebrations near the western Slovakian village of Limbach on Friday. The country experienced a nationwide power blackout and road closures due to heavy snow storms during the last couple of days.

In Pakistan, a vendor sells Santa Claus costumes on a roadside ahead of the Christmas celebrations in Karachi.

In Chile, garbage collectors from the municipality of Puente Alto dressed as Christmas characters collect tips while picking up the trash on Christmas Eve, in Santiago.

One of them displays a Christmas card he received while picking up the trash and collecting tips.

In Japan, Serena, a dugong, is fed as a Christmas present from Santa Claus diver at Toba Aquarium in Toba, Mie Prefecture.

In China, apples bearing the message ''Merry Christmas'' are being sold in Yichang, Hubei Province.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants are continuing to cross the Rio Grande, the border between Mexico and the United States, in hopes of spending Christmas on American soil.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinians lift placards and national flags during a protest in the rain in Ramallah  ahead of Christmas, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.