Image: People visit the Christmas lights and decoration display in front of the Monte-Carlo Casino

In Focus

Photos: Christmas lights sparkle around the world

From Missouri to Minsk, see the holiday displays that are brightening spirits as 2108 winds down.

 / Updated 26 PHOTOS
Image: People gather around a crabapple tree decorated with more than 20,000 lights

Missouri

Visitors gather around a crabapple tree decorated with more than 20,000 lights in Lee's Summit on Dec. 21. The display, known as the Lee's Summit Magic Tree, is a single tree in a vacant lot along a freeway and draws hundreds of visitors each holiday season.

— Charlie Riedel / AP
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Image: 'Mas cerca de las Estrellas' (or Closer to the Stars) Christmas performance in Bogota

Colombia

Artists from the Italian art troupe Studio Festi perform during a presentation of the holiday show "Mas cerca de las Estrellas" (Closer to the Stars) in Bogotà on Dec. 17.

— Mauricio Duena Castaneda / EPA
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Image: Traffic moves along Tverskaya street which is decorated with lights for the New Year and Christmas season in Moscow

Moscow

Motorists drive along Tverskaya Street decorated with Christmas lights on Dec. 15.

— Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
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Image: Lebanon Christmas

Lebanon

Fireworks light the sky as a Christmas tree is lit in Beirut on Dec. 3.

— Anwar Amro / AFP - Getty Images
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Image: Greece Christmas

Greece

A man walks through an illuminated Christmas sculpture at the Stavros Niarhos cultural center in Athens on Dec. 23.

— Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP - Getty Images
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Image: Christmas preparations in Pakistan

Pakistan

A congregation holds candles during Mass in Lahore on Dec. 19.

— Rahat Dar / EPA
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Philadelphia

People walk by The Present in the Christmas Village in Love Park on Dec. 20.

— Matt Rourke / AP
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Belarus

A woman plays with her dog at a square decorated to mark Christmas and New Year's in Minsk on Dec. 18.

— Sergei Grits / AP
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Image: U.S. Stock market

New York

A Christmas tree lights up the Stock Exchange on Nov. 30.

— Angela Weiss / AFP - Getty Images
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Image: Germany Christmas

Berlin

People walk on Unter den Linden boulevard on Dec. 21.

— John MacDougall / AFP - Getty Images
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Image: Donald Trump

Washington

The National Christmas Tree stands lit in President Park on Nov. 28 with the White House in the background.

— Susan Walsh / AP
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Spain

Dancers perform "Night of Candles" in Vitoria on Dec. 21.

— Alvaro Barrientos / AP
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Image: Christmas lights in Medellin

Colombia

A woman takes a photo inside an illuminated fish in Medellin on Dec. 7. More than 26 million LED bulbs give life to the city's Christmas lights, which this year pay tribute to the natural wonders of Colombia.

— Luis Eduardo Noriega A. / EPA
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Taiwan

Visitors take selfies with Christmas decorations in New Taipei City on Dec. 22.

— Chiang Ying-ying / AP
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Image: Christmas market in Budapest

Hungary

Skaters circle a Christmas tree in an open-air ice rink in central Budapest on Dec. 5.

— Balazs Mohai / EPA
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Image: Christmas tree at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Berlin

The Quadriga of the Brandenburg Gate is illuminated on Dec. 3.

— Celems Bilan / EPA
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Germany

Visitors walk inside the traditional Christmas market in Frankfurt on Nov. 26.

— Michael Probst / AP
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Image: Christmas lighting and decorations in Lublin

Poland

People walk under Christmas lights in Lublin on Dec. 18.

— Wojciech Pacewicz / EPA
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Image: Salisbury Cathedral celebrates the beginning of Advent with a candle-lit service and procession, "From Darkness to Light\
England

Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by trails of candles carried by choir members during the annual "darkness to light" Advent procession on Nov. 30.

— Peter Nicholls / Reuters
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Image: Holiday decoration in Moscow

Moscow

Holiday lights illuminate Red Square, a Christmas market and St. Basil's Cathedral on Dec. 22.

— Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP Pool
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Image: A boat sails along the Naviglio canal decorated with Christmas lights

Milan

A boat sails along the Naviglio canal decorated with Christmas lights on Dec. 10. 

— Luca Bruno / AP
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Image: Snow covers the roofs of the so-called "Alter Flecken" (old spot), the historic core of downtown Freudenberg

Germany

Snow covers the roofs of Alter Flecken (Old Spot), the historic center of downtown Freudenberg, on Dec. 16.

— Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
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London

Visitors arrive at Tate Britain's winter art commission, by artist Monster Chetwynd, on Nov. 30.

— Jack Taylor / Getty Images
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Image: People visit the Christmas lights and decoration display in front of the Monte-Carlo Casino

Monaco

A woman takes a photo outside the Monte Carlo Casino on Dec. 7.

— Valery Hache / AFP - Getty Images
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West Bank

Palestinian Christians celebrate the lighting of a Christmas tree in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, on Dec. 1.

— Majdi Mohammed / AP
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Image: Christmas decorations in Taipei

Taiwan

A cyclist rides past a giant Christmas ball decoration in Taipei City on Dec. 20.

— Richie B. Tongo / EPA
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