Officer cadets prepare to take part in the sovereign’s parade, marking the end of 44 weeks of training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire, UK on December 13, 2024. The ceremony takes place three times a year. Most of those who completed commissioning course 241 will serve in the British army but there were also 28 international cadets from 18 countries. (Photo by Times photographer Richard Pohle)





Alida Freding wears a crown of candles symbolising St Lucy as she leads the celebration of Sankta Lucia: Festival of Light at York Minster, based on the bravery and martyrdom of a young Sicilian girl St Lucy who died in the early fourth century. The service is run as a partnership between York Minster and York Anglo-Scandinavian Society (YASS) on Monday, December 16, 2024. In Sweden, Lucia is one of the most significant traditions in the calendar, a symbol and celebration of light and a part of the Advent season. Her name and story reached Sweden along with Christianity and she remained popular even after the Reformation as the bringer of light during the long darkness of winter. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)





This picture taken on November 11, 2024 shows Sumadi Ibrahim, 51, walking with golf balls he recovered inside his diving suit in a pond at a course in Shah Alam, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. After two decades plunging Malaysian seas to defend his country, navy frogman Sumadi Ibrahim has retired to the golf course – diving water hazards to retrieve mis-hit balls to make a living. For 22 years Sumadi served in the Royal Malaysian Navy, deployed aboard ships patrolling the shark-riddled waters off the Pacific archipelago. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)





Firefighter Thiago Paiva, dressed as Santa Claus, rides on a jet ski during Christmas season celebrations in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)





Performers from the Australian circus troupe, Circa, practise on the banks of the Thames in preparation for their Swan Lake remake at London’s South Bank Centre on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Times Photographer Jack Hill)





Alice Goodridge (left) and Tanya Mackenzie (right), members of the Loch Insh Dippers wild swim group, take part in a Christmas-themed swim in the frozen Loch Insh, Kingussie, in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland on Friday, December 13, 2024. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)





A woman smiles while riding the Samba Train as it winds its way through the outskirts of the city celebrating National Samba Day, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, December 7, 2024. Brazilians officially mark National Samba Day on Dec. 2. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)





A model presents a creation from the Lithuanian designer Juozas Statkevicius' Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2025 fashion collection in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, November 15, 2024. (Photo by Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo)





Married Hindu women look at the moon through a sieve as part of a ritual to break her fast during Karva Chauth festival in Jammu, India, Sunday, October 20, 2024. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)





Ilia Topuria (orange shorts) knocks out Max Holloway with a left hook during the featherweight title bout at UFC 308. Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi on June 11, 2024. (Photo by Chris Whiteoak/The National)





American violinist Lindsey Stirling performs at Royal Albert Hall on October 31, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns)





A model on September 4, 2024 draws in artists at the Neon Naked life-drawing class in London founded by Jylle Navarro, an artist and master’s graduate in art and science from Central Saint Martins. (Photo by Guy Corbishley/Alamy Live News)





Models present the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada's creation for the 2025 Spring/Summer Season during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the IFEMA in Madrid, Spain on September 12, 2024. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)





Performers take part in the 10th Diwali Celebrations on November 03, 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the Hindu festival of lights celebrated each autumn. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)





Models on the catwalk during the Paul Costelloe show in the Palm Court at the Waldorf hotel, central London, during London Fashion Week on Friday, September 13, 2024. (Photo by James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)