People dressed up as Father Frost (2nd L), Snow Maidens and Santa Claus (R) meet at the Nuijamaa border station between Finland and Russia in Lappeenranta, Finland. (Reuters)

(L-R) Japan’s Crown Princess Masako, Crown Prince Naruhito, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko wave to well-wishers who gather to celebrate the monarch’s 79th birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. (Reuters)

Demonstrators overturn a government vehicle in front of the India Gate during a protest in New Delhi against the gang rape of a young woman. (Reuters)

Women look at shoes and bags during a public auction of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family’s abandoned belongings in Tunis. (Reuters)

Trees are decorated with lights to celebrate upcoming Christmas and New Year at Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, South Korea. (AP)

An Afghan firefighter walks amidst smoke in a clothing market after a fire in Kabul, which destroyed about 600 shops including the city’s main money exchange. (Reuters)

A gaggle of wild geese flies in the setting sun in Hourtin, southwestern France, December 22, 2012. (Reuters)

A Christian worshiper prays at the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, ahead of Christmas, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (AP)

Icicles hang from leaves covered in freezing rain in Neumuenster, northern Germany. Freezing rain and snowfall disturbed traffic on many roads across the country. (AFP)

A woman cycles past a Christmas tree outside a Catholic church in Xiliulin village near the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China. (Reuters)