A Chinese girl peeps at Santa at a shopping center on Christmas Eve December 24, 2011 in Beijing, China. Though Christmas is not officially celebrated in China, the holiday is becoming increasingly popular as Chinese adopt more Western ideas and festivals. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

Groundhog handler Ron Ploucha holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting 6 more weeks of winter during the 126th annual Groundhog Day festivities on February 2, 2012 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

These horses are pictured in the Khentii province in eastern Mongolia during the Winter Horse Festival – where skillful horsemen gather to challenge the strength of their horses and show off their riding skills. Pictures were taken by Batzaya Choijiljav, a travel company director from Mongolia. Here: The fur of a horse ices up in the –40 cold of Mongolia. (Photo by Batzaya Choijiljav/Caters News)

The annual Antarctic photography exhibition, which is part of Hobart’s Antarctica festival is back on with its chilly, majestic imagery. The winner this year is Sydney’s Sam Edmonds with his striking photo of a gentoo penguin in the snow. Here: Casey Station 2017. (Photo by Chris J. Wilson/The Guardian)

Kirby waits to be judged during the 44th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. (Photo by Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

Takehiko Yagi is a rising star in Japanese photography, and his vibrant pictures of the Hindu spring festival of Holi won the Grand Prize at the fourth annual Nikkei National Geographic Photo Prize. Diving into the Colors of Holi is his first exhibition in the US, on show at Foto Care Gallery in New York until 28 September, 2016. Here: Jaipur, India, 2013, (Photo by Takehiko Yagi/The Guardian)

A fishmonger prepares fresh festive seafood supplies at the Sydney Seafood Market on December 23, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The annual 36-hour seafood marathon commenced today with thousands of Sydney shoppers expected to flock to the Sydney Seafood Market to find the freshest possible seafood catch for Christmas Day feasts. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Shortlisted images in the running to be crowned Photobox Instagram photograph of the year range from furry friends to the Holi festival to the meaning of love. Judges, including the Guardian’s former picture editor Eamonn McCabe, have whittled down 180,000 submissions to unearth a shortlist that celebrates the best of social media. Winners will be announced October 3, 2018. Here: Najac, France. Travel shortlist. (Photo by Aaron Jenkin/@aaronjenkin)