Gallery: Christmas Eve around the world

Indian students sporting Santa Claus attire ride a cycle rickshaw to celebrate Christmas in Amritsar, India, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Although Christians comprise only two percent of the population Christmas is a national holiday and is observed across the country as an occasion to celebrate. (AP Photo) INDIA OUT

U.S. soldiers and service members with the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) take their dinner at a dinning hall on Christmas eve at the U.S.-led coalition base in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

A Pakistani man, right, stands inside his grocery story which id decorated with festive lights, for the Christmas holiday in a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

In this photo made available on Dec. 24, 2012, Belgium's King Albert II addresses his traditional Christmas speech at the Royal Palace in Brussels. Belgium's King Albert II delivers a twice yearly speech to the Belgian population, once on Christmas and once on Belgium's National Day, July 21. (AP Photo/Benoit Doppagne, Pool)In this photo made available Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, Belgium's King Albert II poses for a photograph during the recording of his traditional Christmas speech at the Royal Palace in Brussels. Belgium's King Albert II delivers a twice yearly speech to the Belgian population, once on Christmas and once on Belgium's National Day, July 21. (AP Photo/Benoit Doppagne, Pool)

Women laugh as they carry shopping bags on Oxford Street in London, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Sales in some UK stores began on Christmas Eve. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

A dejected fan dressed in a green Santa Claus outfit holds up a sign detailing his Christmas wish list after the San Diego Chargers defeated the New York Jets 217 during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Lizzie Solano, center, and her sister Sarah take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their house, during the fifth annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation, at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, at Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado Springs, Colo., Monday Dec. 24, 2012. Over a thousand volunteers at NORAD handle more than 100,000 thousand phone calls from children around the world every Christmas Eve, when NORAD continually projects Santa Claus's supposed progress delivering presents. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A man disguised as Santa Claus poses for pictures with a boy during a Christmas gift distribution at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday Dec. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this photo taken Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, Esther Butler rearranges the blankets surrounding her son, Ezekiel, as she performs the role of Mary during a live Nativity scene set up by the Kodiak Baptist Mission in Kodiak, Alaska. The Nativity, which has been conducted by the mission for the past 14 years, attracted more than 500 viewers as part of the mission's Currier and Ives Christmas celebration. Esther's husband, Arnel, played the role of Joseph of Nazareth. (AP Photo/Kodiak Daily Mirror, James Brooks)

Last-minute Christmas shoppers crowd the Willowbrook Mall searching for gifts, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Wayne, N.J. This holiday season, Americans have a lot on their minds on top of the now familiar job worries. (AP Photo/The Record (Bergen County NJ), Chris Pedota) ONLINE OUT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; NO ARCHIVING; MANDATORY CREDIT.

Students play Christmas songs during Christmas eve along the shore of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong Monday Dec. 24, 2012. Christmas is a public holiday and recognized as commercial event rather than religious event in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal waves to the crowds before Christmas celebrations in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Twal, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, has celebrated the United Nations' recent recognition of a Palestinian state in his annual pre-Christmas remarks.(AP Photo/Adel Hana)

U.S. soldiers with the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) speak after eating dinner at a dinning hall on Christmas eve at the U.S.-led coalition base in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

An electrician puts up illuminations at All Saints Cathedral on the eve of Christmas in Allahabad, India, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Although Christians comprise only two percent of the population Christmas is a national holiday and is observed across the country as an occasion to celebrate. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A man disguised as Santa Claus rides a motorcycle in Mexico City, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A woman walks past a Christmas items shop, in a Christian neighborhood in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Iran's constitution gives protected status to Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, but many religious minorities sense growing pressures from the Islamic state. Iran has claimed as a point of pride that it makes space for other religions. It reserves parliament seats for Jewish and Christian lawmakers and permits churches _ Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox and others _ as well as synagogues and Zoroastrian temples that are under sporadic watch by authorities. Religious celebrations are allowed, but no political messages or overtones are tolerated. In past years, authorities have staged arrests on Christians and other religious minorities. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A cross is held during Christmas celebrations outside the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Thousands of Christian worshippers and tourists arrived in Bethlehem on Monday to mark Christmas at the site where many believe Jesus Christ was born. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Filipinos check stuffed toys as people make their last-minute shopping along the busy shopping area of Divisoria in Manila, Philippines on Christmas eve, Monday Dec. 24, 2012. Christmas is one of the most important holidays in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 photo, a Muslim security guard conducts his evening prayers in front of an apartment building decorated for Christmas in central Dakar, Senegal. As Christmas approaches in mostly Muslim Senegal, vendors ply the streets selling tinsel, artificial trees, and inflatable Santas, and the main boulevards are all aglow in holiday lights. Senegal, a moderate country along Africa's western coast, has long been a place where Christians and Muslims coexist peacefully and share in each other's holidays. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A Sri Lankan man reacts to camera as he shops for decorative items on the eve of Christmas in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)