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.

These images of abandoned hospitals across Italy are not for the faint-hearted. Both of the hospitals featured in the photographs are Italian asylums – known as manicomios – that were used as mental hospitals. Shut down by law in 1978, the derelict buildings are visibly overgrown and make for very eerie portraits. Photographer Thomas Windisch, 32, of Graz, Austria, said the asylums, located in top-secret spots, can get very creepy when there aren't many people there with him. Here: a hallway within an abandoned hospital. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

These stunning images show the beauty and drama of Mother Nature at work. Captured deep in heart of the Danakil Desert in East Africa, the images show the acid pools near the Erta Ale volcano. Pools of brightly colored acid can be seen amid the dramatic blast of volcanic ash. The photos were taken by Neta Dekel, an Israeli photographer. He the acid pools were one of the most extraordinary sights he had ever seen. (Photo by Neta Dekel/Caters News Agency)

“This grey adult male seal enjoys a good grin while lying on the beach”. (Photo by Michael Hutch/SplashdownDirect via Rex USA)

A female sniper of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) monitors the area during a celebration at the iconic Al- Naim square in Raqa on October 19, 2017, after retaking the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. The SDF fighters flushed jihadist holdouts from Raqa' s main hospital and municipal stadium, wrapping up a more than four- month offensive against what used to be the inner sanctum of IS' s self- proclaimed “caliphate”. (Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo)

Leslie Cliff and his wife Violet, English figure skating pair. Olympic games of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany), 1936. (Photo by Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images)

A Haitian woman lies in a trance during a voodoo ceremony in Souvenance, a suburb of Gonaives, 171 km north of Port- au- Prince, on April 16, 2017. Haitian voodoo followers arrived in Souvenance to take part in the voodoo ceremonies held during Easter weekend. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Convicted murderer Hector Alvarado Mazariegos, right, drops to the ground as he is hit by bullets of a Guatemala firing squad in the public cemetery at Mazatenango, June 28, 1975. His companion, Rocael Ortiz, met the same fate a few seconds later. Both were convicted of murder. (Photo by AP Photo/Anzueto)