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December 28, 2009 |
Christmas 2009
Friday, the 25th, was Christmas Day, the Christian commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated in many places around the world with prayers, singing, gift-giving and charity. Modern Christmas traditions originate from many backgrounds, combining several historic holidays and celebrations into one, the most well-known traditional story being Santa Claus, a jolly old elf who brings gifts to good children all over the world. Collected here are a handful of photographs of people observing the Christmas season this year. (34 photos total)

The 2009 Christmas Tree displayed on St. Peter's square in front of St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican and adorned with white and gold ornaments, is lit for the first time on December 18, 2009. The 90 year-old, 30-meter high tree weighing some 14 tons was offered by the Belgian region of Wallonie. A life-size nativity scene, displayed near the tree, was be unveiled on Christmas eve. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images) #

A Palestinian craftsman puts olive wood figurines into nativity scenes at a factory in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. Olive wood carving came to Bethlehem in the 4th century with the building of the Church of the Nativity, which is built around the grotto where tradition holds Jesus was born. Monks taught the locals the trade, and now many of the residents of Bethlehem and its surrounding areas either carve olive wood or sell wood carvings. (AP Photo/ Tara Todras-Whitehill) #

A young boy looks at the website (www.noradsanta.org) to check on the progress of Santa Claus on December 24, 2009 in Washington, DC. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which monitors the North American airspace, on Thursday set up an official "Santa Tracker" on its website in seven languages to find the current location and upcoming stops of Santa and his storied reindeer. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images) #

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 22 crew members wearing festive holiday hats are pictured while speaking with officials from Russia, Japan and the United States from the Zvezda Service Module on Tuesday Dec. 22, 2009. In the front row, are NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams (r), commander; and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, flight engineer. Pictured on the back row (l-r) are Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all flight engineers. (AP photo/NASA) #

The center of the Dutch city of Gouda is lit by many candles during the 54th edition of Candlenight on December 15, 2009. Every year, Kaarsjesavond (night of candles) is celebrated on the second Tuesday of December at the Gouda marketplace and around the City Hall. (VALERIE KUYPERS/AFP/Getty Images) #
More links and information
Christmas Around the World - NYTimes.com slideshow
In pictures: Christmas around the world - BBC Slideshow