Christmas approaches

The Christian religious holiday may not arrive until December 25, but secular and commercial festivities have been in full swing for almost a month already. Increasingly the non-religious aspects of the holiday are celebrated even in countries without a strong Christian tradition. Gathered here are images of preparations from around the world as it begins to look a lot like Christmas.




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02. Jason and Emily Gray hold their two-year-old twins Lacey and Ashley under the the holiday lights at the annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in Boise, Idaho. (Darin OswaldIdaho Statesman/AP)


03. A trumpeter plays during the traditional Christmas tree illuminating and opening of the traditional Christmas market in front of the Tyn Church at the Old Town Square on November 26, 2011 in Prague. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images)


04. Shoppers enter a department store at midnight in Covington, La. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/AP)


05. Balloons at an Oakland, Calif. retailer advertise sale prices to shoppers on November 24, 2011. The store opened before midnight to encourage early shopping. (Noah Berger/AP)


06. Windy LaFerney (right) checks her e-mail while her son Caisen LaFerney, 4, plays an electronic game and Windy's mother Nicki Lawrence hangs out in their tent in front of a department store in Mesquite, Texas on November 21, 2011. They set up their tent late Sunday night so they could be the first people in the store early Friday morning for Black Friday shopping. (David Woo/The Dallas Morning News/AP)


07. Father Christmas waves to the crowds during Harrods 26th Annual Christmas Parade on November 5 in London. (Steve Finn/Harrods via Getty Images)


08. A 65-foot white fir tree is loaded onto a truck for its 20-day journey to Washington on November 5, 2011 after the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree was cut from the Stanislaus National Forest near Sonora, Calif. The tradition of "The People's Tree" began in 1964, and the job of providing it rotates among national forests. Come January, when the tree has served its purpose, it will be ground into mulch and spread across the Capitol gardens. (Jerry Snyder/Stanislaus National Forest/AP)


09. German bicycle designer Didi Senft, also known as 'El Diablo', poses in front of a giant Christmas candle arch in the town of Storkow, Germany on November 24, 2011. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)


10. In this image taken with a fish-eye lens, the traditional Regent Street Christmas Lights 2011 in central London's main shopping area are switched on as fireworks explode overhead on November 8, 2011. (David Parry/PA/AP)


11. Forest worker Peter Otto carries two fir trees during the official opening of Christmas tree season in Stolpe, Germany on November 9, 2011. (Carsten Rehder/AFP/Getty Images)


12. Workers paint Christmas trees made of twigs along a street in Manila November 10, 2011. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)


13. A man dressed as Santa Claus is surrounded by local children giving him their Christmas wish lists as he arrives at the Santa Claus post office in Himmelpfort, Germany on November 10, 2011. Children can send their Christmas wish lists to Himmelpfort from around the world and receive a reply from Santa. (John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images)


14. Women reply to letters addressed to Father Christmas at a special Christmas post office in Himmelpfort, Germany on November 10, 2011. The post office has a special Christmas service, replying to mail addressed to Santa Claus that were sent by children from all over the world. Organizers expect to receive some 280,000 letters and wish lists from children writing in 17 languages. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)


15. People use their mobile phones to take pictures of a Christmas tree during the annual Festival Arbol Gallo in Guatemala City November 12, 2011. During the festival Christmas trees are lit in Guatemala City and 32 other locations around the country. (Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters)


16. A Santa diver feeds whale shark "Hachibei" at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, on November 13, 2011. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)


17. Parents take pictures of children posing at a shopping mall in Hong Kong on November 19, 2011. (Laurent Fievet/AFP/Getty Images)


18. Lebanese workers are hoisted by a crane as they decorate a Christmas tree with the slogan of "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" in English, French and Arabic in Beirut on November 21, 2011. (Hussein Malla/AP)


19. Radio City Rockettes present s'mores frozen hot chocolate, their annual holiday season dessert in New York on November 21, 2011. The dessert is served in a goblet dripping in marshmallow fluff and filled with a blend of 14 cocoas, topped with honey graham cracker crumbs, mini marshmallows, swirls of chocolate sauce, whipped cream and garnished with a graham cracker cookie topped with a toasted marshmallow, chocolate shavings, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a Radio City light-up stirrer. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)


20. People queue up to buy "El Gordo" Christmas lottery tickets in downtown Madrid November 22, 2011. (Andrea Comas/Reuters)


21. Christmas shop windows are on display during the launch of the Christmas Illuminations at Le Printemps on November 9, 2011 in Paris. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)


22. A shop window attracts customers in New York on November 21, 2011. Midtown retailers are known for splashy displays that have become as much a holiday tradition as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree or sidewalk Santas. (Bebeto Matthews/AP)


23. People pass by the display of Gaga's Workshop at luxury department store Barneys in New York November 22, 2011. Barneys is teaming up with pop singer Lady Gaga for a Christmas holiday campaign. (Kena Betancur/Reuters)


24. People take part in a ceremony to send a Christmas tree to the Vatican near Rakhiv, Ukrain on November 23, 2011. Each year a country from different parts of Europe donates a tree to be erected in St. Peter's Square. (Lozhef Kish/Reuters)


25. A sheep wears a Christmas costume during a promotional event at the Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea on November 24, 2011. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)


26. Stands are illuminated at the Christmas Market in Frankfurt, Germany on November 23, 2011. Organisers expect around three million visitors. (Frank Rumpenhorst/AFP/Getty Images)


27. Christmas lights illuminate Vienna's city center Am Graben on November 24, 2011. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)


28. A worker installs a steel Christmas tree outside a shopping mall in Beijing on November 25, 2011. (Andy Wong/AP)


29. Michelle Obama walks with daughters Sasha and Malia (right) to receive the 2011 White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, D.C. on November 25, 2011. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)


30. Fishermen pull a net early in the morning on November 7, 2011, during the annual fishing season at the Bosilecky pond near Trebon, Czech Republic in preparation for the domestic and European Christmas season sales. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images)


31. Workers load Christmas trees into a lorry on the Duncombe Park Estate in Helmsley, England on November 25, 2011. (Nigel Roddis/Reuters)


32. Christmas snow domes on display at the traditional Christmas market at the Old Town in Nuremberg, Germany on November 25, 2011. (Matthias Schrader/AP)


33. A tourist looks at a reindeer display for Christmas celebrations in front of the skyline of the financial district in Singapore on November 26, 2011. (Joel Boh/Reuters)


34. Franciscan monks take part in a ritual mass ceremony of the Franciscan Fathers at Santa Cathrina Church at the compound of the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank City of Bethlehem on November 26, 2011. (Musa Al-Shaer/AFP/Getty Images)


35. Visitors look at an unusual Christmas crib in a mall by architect Fernando Martinez on November 26, 2011 in Tegucigalpa. The crib depicts the violence wave in the country - Honduras suffers the highest murder rate in the world - as well as the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Muamar Gaddafi. (Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images)


36. Fireworks explode around a Christmas tree during the lighting ceremony at Rodrigo de Freitas Lake in Rio de Janeiro on November 26, 2011. (Andre Durao/Reuters)#


37. Santa Claus trainees learn how to speak and walk in preparation for Christmas Day at the "Santa Claus Academy" in Tokyo on November 27, 2011. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)#


38. A vendor serves hot wine at the traditional Christ Child market near Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France on November 27, 2011. The oldest French Christmas market has been held annually since 1570. (Vincent Kessler/Reuters)


39. Cameron Ganno gets a greeting from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer while being held by Kim Werth during the 59th Annual Quincy Christmas Parade in Quincy, Mass. on November 27, 2011. (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)#


40. Santa Claus waves from the roof of Sydney's Queen Victoria Building on November 28, 2011. (Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images)#


41. Brothers Beckman, Preston, and Westley Giang are transfixed by holiday lights on November 27, 2011 at their house in Brea, Calif. (Mindy Schauer/Orange County Register/AP)#


42. Penguins take a walk at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, Japan on November 13, 2011. (Itsuo Inouye/AP)#

Libya: Post-Khadafy

It's been just over a month since the capture and death of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy, ending his 42-year reign. Since then, the rebels have declared that the nation is liberated, installed a transitional government, and started the process of writing a constitution. Still, substantial problems remain. Pockets of fighting have erupted among rival tribes and some rebels have refused to give up their cache of weapons. Doctors continue to struggle to treat the wounded and sick, with a few of the most severely injured being sent to rehabilitation centers in Boston and elsewhere. Last weekend, Khadafy’s son, Seif, was captured and could face war crimes for his part in the conflict.




01. Anti-Khadafy fighters acknowledge the crowd during a review of the brigades from the eastern region to commemorate the liberation of Quiche in Benghazi Oct. 27. (Esam Al-Fetori/Reuters)


02. A general view of buildings ravaged by fighting in Sirte, Libya. Moammar Khadafy's hometown has paid a heavy price for sheltering him and trying to push back his opponents in the final battle of Libya's civil war. The fighting and what residents describe as wanton destruction by vengeful anti-Khadafy fighters have rendered much of Sirte uninhabitable, with hundreds of homes turned into broken shells. (Manu Brabo/Associated Press)


03. Saif al-Islam Khadafy is pictured sitting in a plane in Zintan Nov. 19. Khadafy said he was feeling fine after being captured by some of the fighters who overthrew his father and he said injuries to his right hand were suffered during a NATO air strike a month ago. (Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)


04. Suspected loyalists of Moammar Khadafy stand inside a jail in Tripoli Nov. 17. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)


05. Soldiers loyal to former Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy wait in line for food at a jail in Misrata Oct. 26. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)


06. Libyan men reflected in a puddle show the V-sign for victory as they celebrate the capture of Seif al-Islam, fugitive son and one-time heir apparent of former leader Moamer Kadhafi, in the eastern city of Benghazi on Nov. 19. Seif al-Islam, 39, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court was caught in southern Libya by former rebel forces. (Abdullah Doma/AFP/Getty Images)


07. A child stands in front of a bullet-riddled wall of her home, damaged during fighting between pro and anti-Khadafy fighters, after her family returned to Sirte Oct. 26. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


08. Pictures left by fleeing residents are seen at the entrance of the abandoned town of Tawarga. Misrata militias carried out revenge attacks on the displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawarga, a stronghold of Moammar Khadafy loyalists during Libya's eight-month conflict, according to Human Rights Watch. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)


09. A young displaced Libyan girl from the city of Tawarga lives with her family in prefabricated houses set up for workers at a construction site in Tripoli on Nov. 3. Misrata militias are carrying out revenge attacks on the displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawarga, a stronghold of Moammar Khadafy loyalists during Libya's eight-month conflict, according to Human Rights Watch. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)


10. In front of the pre-Khadafy Libyan flag, an unidentified Iranian medic checks blood pressure of wounded Libyan man, Ali Mohammad, during his medical treatment in Chamran hospital in Tehran, Iran, Oct. 31. Hospital officials said 76 wounded Libyans arrived in the early morning of Thursday, Oct. 27, and a group of them are receiving treatment at Tehran's Chamran Hospital which is run by the Iranian Defense Ministry. (Vahid Salemi/Associated Press)


11. A Libyan man inspects his family's photo album inside his destroyed house in Sirte's sector 2 neighborhood on Nov. 6. Less then one percent of Sirte's residents have returned to the war-torn hometown of Libya's late leader Moammar Khadafy, where no festivities were witnessed this year to mark the end of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca on Islam's main holiday of sacrifice. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)


12. Libyan children cross the street in Sirte's sector 2 neighborhood on Nov 6. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)


13. A Libyan girl leans on a destroyed military vehicle with her holiday dress as the remnants of Sirte's residents celebrated the Eid al-Adha feast on Nov. 6. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)


14. Libya's National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil (right) meets with Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal in Tripoli during Rosenthal's official visit to Libya on Nov. 13. (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)


15. The empty chair of Libya is pictured in Rabat during a meeting of Arab nations on Nov. 16. Arab nations were to meet in Morocco to further tighten the noose around an increasingly isolated Syria, as Turkey warned its onetime close ally against feeding "on the blood of the innocent". Since the Arab League's landmark decision to suspend Syria over its crackdown on protests, only the third time a member was suspended in the pan-Arab body's history. (Abdelhak SennaAFP/Getty Images)


16. Libya's National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil (center) meets the footballers during an all-star international charity football match at the Al-Ahli stadium in Dubai to raise funds for the children of Libya on Nov. 8. (Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images)


17. Bullet cartridges litter the ground as residents give a clean sweep of the freedom square in the center of Sirte after returning to their houses in Sirte Nov. 1. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


18. Members of Moammar Khadafy's tribe stand next to the destroyed graves of Khadafy's mother, uncle and two other relatives in Wadi Jaref, located on the outskirts of Sirte, Oct. 29. The tribesmen said the graves were dug out by anti-Khadafy fighters, 15 days before Khadafy died. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


19. A woman holds the flag of Libya during a ceremony honoring the field commanders of the Eastern Front in Benghazi Oct. 29. (Esam Al-Fetori/Reuters)


20. A horseman, wearing traditional Zintan clothes, celebrates the liberation of Libya in the Western Mountains, 160 kilometres southwest of the capital of Tripoli, Nov. 15. (Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)


21. The orchestra of the National Army loyal to Libya's new rulers take part in a military parade Nov. 2 organized by the municipality of Tripoli to celebrate the ouster of former leader Moammar Khadafy. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)


22. A man climbs up a street lamp to hang the new Libyan flag during celebrations after three days of clashes among rival communities in Al-Zahra 32.2 km (20 miles) west of Tripoli Nov. 14. Despite continued gunfire and explosions near Tripoli Libyan officials and fighters said a bloody local dispute that has strained nerves in the city for three days was being resolved. Compared to exchanges of rockets and machine gun fire in which medics said at least seven fighters were killed. Clashes were limited a result, officials said, of a deal among leaders from the capital and rival communities from the town of Zawiyah and clan leaders of the Wershifanna tribe. (Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)


23. Teams from Libya's National Transitional Council collect unexploded ordnance buried underground by the Khadafy regime at a military base in Tajura, about 30 km (19 miles) east of Tripoli Nov. 16. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)


24. Two African immigrants dance outside a building they occupy at the Janzur Port makeshift refugee camp in Sidi Bilal , just outside Tripoli on Oct. 25. A community of more than one thousand African immigrants have occupied the run down structure once used by an elite diving unit of the Libyan Navy as a training field. They came from all over the country at the beginning of the revolution in February and sought refuge in the abandoned structure, awaiting an uncertain future in Libya or facing the risks of deportation. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)


25. A man smiles after receiving bread from some volunteers in Sirte Oct. 31. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


26. Libyan women check their house which had been burnt during the conflict between rebel fighters and Khadafy loyalists, after they returned to Bani Walid Oct. 27. (Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)


27. Children play on a 155mm howitzer that belonged to former Khadafy regime forces, in Misrata Oct. 27. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)


28. Libya's Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Alagi cuts a cake with others to celebrate the liberation of Libya in Tripoli Oct. 2. (Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)


29. A parachutist prepares to land at a rally in Tripoli Nov. 16. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)


30. Crates containing shells and hand rockets are seen in a desert some 130 km (81 miles) south of Sirte Oct. 30. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


31. A man walks in a cemetery where soldiers loyal to former Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy are being buried in Misrata Oct. 25. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)


32. Libyans hold pictures of people who have gone missing in the civil war, during a demonstration in Benghazi Nov. 19. (Esam Al-Fetori/Reuters)


33. Fighters from Zawiya city fire a rocket towards the Warcfana tribe at the front line of the city, about 40km (25 miles) from Tripoli Nov. 12. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


34. Fighters of Zawiya city stand at a new checkpoint at the entrance of Zawiya city, about 40km from Tripoli Nov. 11 after a fight between the fighters and Warcfana tribes. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


35. Fighters from Zawiya city prepare to head to the front line at the entrance of the city after heavy clashes between the Warcfana and Zawiya tribe, about 40km (25 miles) from Tripoli Nov. 12. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


36. Libyan fighters dance during a demonstration for their wages to be paid in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Tripoli Nov. 9. (Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)


37. A woman passes by the first boat carrying travellers since February 2011 from Cyprus to Tripoli, at El Chaab sea port, in Tripoli, Nov. 10. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


38. A man shouts to maintain order as civilians in Sirte line up to receive food and daily rations donated from various cities in Libya, Nov. 3. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


39. Muslims visit the graves of relatives during the Eid al-Adha celebrations in Misrata Nov. 6. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid-al-Adha, marking the end of the haj. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)


40. Tripoli's revolutionary fighters take part in a military parade in Tripoli Nov. 17. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)