An Orangutan named “Pacquiao” and zoo owner Manny Tangco, wearing Santa costumes, embrace in front of Brown Philippine Deer while giving school children a tour ahead of the next week's Christmas celebration Thursday, December 18, 2014 in suburban Malabon city, north of Manila, Philippines. The yearly treat is aimed at encouraging residents to be sensitive to the feelings of animals especially when exploding firecrackers for the raucous celebration. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)

Capturing the true essence of Christmas, Lapland is the perfect place to take your family for the holiday period. Situated in the arctic regions of northern Sweden, Finland and Norway, there are a villages in each country around where you can enjoy the full festive experience.

An Ethiopian Orthodox monk prays within a rock hewn church ahead of Ethiopian Christmas in Lalibela, January 6, 2017, which is celebrated on January 7. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

In the desert near Joshua Tree, California, there stands a 70-year-old homestead cabin that isn’t all there. The ethereal cabin is part of an outdoor art installation by artist Phillip K. Smith III called Lucid Homestead. To give the cabin its striking appearance, the artist replaced strips of the wall with mirrors and the windows with mirrored panels that light up at night. The building reflects the desert sun and environment around it, making it seem like an airy and transparent space

Snakes are collected and rolled before putting into the oven on March 2, 2014 in the village of Kertasura, Cirebon, Indonesia. At slaughter house snake skins measuring in the hundreds of metres, are sold to bag factories in the West and Central Java provinces on a monthly basis. From snake skin was manufactured into bags, shoes, wallets and belts. The price of a bag made from snake skin costs between 150,000 rupiah ($15 USD) and 300,000 rupiah ($30 USD), depending on its size. When snake skins reach Western fashion houses their price can increase dramatically and sell for up to $4,000 USD. (Photo by Nurcholis Anhari Lubis/Getty Images)

In spring sunsunshine the “Out of Sync” art installation is unveiled on a grass meadow at Somerset House on March 15, 2012 in London, England. Chilean artist Fernando Casasempere hand crafted the 10,000 clay flowers that dominate the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court. The installation is open to the public at Somerset House from March 16th to April 27th 2012. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images for Somerset House Trust)

Runners dressed in Christmas-themed outfits compete during a charity Santa run in Shanghai, China, November 29, 2015. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)