This photograph shows a painting called “Kneeling Nun” by Swedish painter Martin Van Meytens, with its front side on the left and the back side seen in a mirror, as part of the Reversos exhibition, which presents the hidden back sides of renowned paintings, at the Prado Museum in Madrid on December 5, 2023. A new exhibition at Madrid's Prado museum is throwing a spotlight on the reverse side of paintings, letting visitors see labels, seals and sketches that are usually hidden from view. The goal of the show, called Reversos (On the Reverse), is to change the viewer's point of view and take them behind the scenes to open a “door to the secrets of art”, said the exhibition's curator, Miguel Angel Blanco. (Photo by Thomas Coex/AFP Photo)





The Parade of Lights took place this Friday afternoon, December 8, 2023 in the center of São Paulo. The action is part of the São Paulo Christmas Festival. (Photo by Cris Faga/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A figure depicting a devil is shown burning as part of the traditional “Burning the Devil” event in Guatemala City, Guatemala, 07 December 2023. Thousands of Guatemalans celebrate the “Burning of the Devil” tradition, which is several centuries old, and some people used their ingenuity to give it a political nuance and protest against officials accused of trying to reverse this year's electoral results. (Photo by Edwin Bercián/EPA/EFE)





Beachgoers pass a snowman made from sand on Christmas Day at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 25, 2023. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)





An Israeli military helicopter releases a flare over the Israel-Gaza border, after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired, as seen from southern Israel, December 1, 2023. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)





Relatives of the Palestinians who lost their lives bid farewell in front of the Nasser Medical Hospital morgue after the Ma’an UNRWA School was targeted, east of Khan Younis, on December 5, 2023. (Photo by Loay Ayyoub for The Washington Post)





Argentina's newly sworn-in President Javier Milei speaks outside the Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, December 10, 2023. (Photo by Gustavo Garello/AP Photo)





Ukrainian servicemen of 228 Separate Battalion of the 127th Separate Territorial Defence Brigade shoot from a self-made multiple rocket launcher on a frontline in the Donetsk area, Ukraine, 20 December 2023. Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory in February 2022, starting a conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. (Photo by Yakiv Liashenko/EPA)





A man takes part in a carnival parade as part of New Year's Eve festivities in San Jose, Costa Rica, 27 December 2023. (Photo by Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA)





A reveler depicting the devil holds a stick during a traditional St. Nicholas procession near the village of Lidecko, Czech Republic, Sunday, December 3, 2023. This pre-Christmas tradition has survived for centuries in a few villages in the eastern part of the country. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)





People take part in the annual Allendale Tar Barrel Festival, in Allendale, northern England, Britain on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Lee Smith/Reuters)





West Virginia head coach Neal Brown gets dunked with mayonnaise after their win against North Carolina in an NCAA college football game at the Duke's Mayo Bowl Wednesday, December 27, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C. (Photo by Chris Carlson/AP Photo)





People and a Ukrainian serviceman watch as firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a damaged apartment building after a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, December 29, 2023. (Photo by Artem Perfilov/AP Photo)





Referee Rebecca Welch gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Burnley at Craven Cottage stadium in London, Saturday, December 23, 2023. Welch is the first female referee ever to officiate an English Premier League game. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)





Children play inside floating spheres during a Christmas fair at the Jardin des Tuileries garden in central Paris on December 25, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)





A woman cries outside the headquarters of Charles University for victims of mass shooting in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, December 22, 2023. A lone gunman opened fire at a university on Thursday, killing more than a dozen people and injuring scores of people. (Photo by Denes Erdos/AP Photo)





Members of a salsa band perform during the parade in the Salsodromo as part of the Cali Fair in Cali, Colombia, on December 25, 2023. (Photo by Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP Photo)





A Palestinian woman holds her child after an Israeli strike on her neighborhood in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, December 9, 2023. (Photo by Fatima Shbair/AP Photo)





A clown poses for a picture at the Salvador del Mundo square during the National Day of the Salvadoran Clown, celebrated every first Wednesday of December, in San Salvador on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Camilo Freedman/AFP Photo)