Competitors take part in a mountain bike race on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, on December 7, 2023, as part of the “Raid des Alizes”, an exclusively all-female multi sport competition. Each team represents a charity project of their choice during the competition. Depending on the final ranking, donations go directly to the charities represented. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)





Ukrainian soldiers fire on Russian positions in the east of the country near Donetsk, Ukraine on December 17, 2023. (Photo by Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)





This handout picture released by the Israeli army on December 22, 2023 shows a soldier operating in the Gaza Strip, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Israeli Army/AFP Photo)





A greyhound dog dressed up in a festive costume on Buchanan Street in Glasgow on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Michael McGurk/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Twins Dean (R) and Keith Stapleton (L) react as they watch the sun rise during the Winter Solstice at Newgrange, Ireland on December 21, 2023. Newgrange, a 5,200-year-old passage tomb, stands as the focal point of Ireland's Ancient East, predating both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza. Built to mark the new year, during the Winter Solstice sunrise, direct sunlight enters the monument through a small opening called the “roof box”, illuminating the chamber for 17 minutes. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)





Visitors come to see the Christmas tree and traditional Christmas market in Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic on December 5, 2023. (Photo by Tomas Tkacik/Sopa Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





This handout picture released by the Israeli army on December 29, 2023 shows Israeli soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Israeli Army/AFP Photo)





Members of the ThesSUP team dressed as Santa Claus sit at the seafront of Thessaloniki, Greece on December 23, 2023. (Photo by Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters)





Two participants pose for a photo while wearing their costumes at the annual Mother City Queer Project (MCQP) event in Cape Town, on 16 December 2023. The annual Mother City Queer Project (MCQP) event is a celebration of South Africa's LGBTQIA+ community and costumes. The event was originally created as a platform for the queer community to dress up and enjoy the festivities that encourage self-expression. (Photo by Rodger Bosch/AFP Photo)





In this photo obtained from the US Department of Defense, ships from the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG) and the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), and Hellenic Navy frigate HS Navarinon (F 461) sail in formation in the Mediterranean Sea on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Nolan Pennington/US Department of Defense/AFP Photo)





View of a statue of Colombian singer Shakira at the Malecon in Barranquilla, Colombia, on December 26, 2023. Arms interlocked high, belly exposed, and torso folded to one side anticipate Shakira's iconic hip movement, immortalized on Tuesday in a 6.5-meter-high statue in the Colombian port city of Barranquilla, where she grew up. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)





Art installation Magical Night is projected onto The Queens Hotel in Leeds, UK on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. The animation by Onionlab tells the story of a gingerbread man who jumps from window to window of the hotel. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)





A general view of a temporary exhibition entitled The Hungarian Bride on its opening day in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, Hungary on December 13, 2023. The wedding gowns and other precious garments, accessories, love letters and wedding certificates of hundreds of women, both known and unknown, tell the story of the social status and living conditions of females, with an emphasis on the changing role of women in society from the 16th century up to modern day's changing attitude towards wedlock. Spanning for half a millennium, these personal stories take visitors through the cultural journey of transformation women have undergone. (Photo by Zoltan Balogh/EPA/EFE)





An amphibious car goes out for a ride along The River Thames on a dull, damp Christmas Day afternoon on December 25, 2023. (Photo by Geoffrey Swaine/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





People take part on December 21, 2023 in Burning the Clocks, a Brighton tradition for almost two decadesin UK marking the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. A 2,000-strong parade winds its way through the streets and people pass their handmade paper and willow lanterns, filled symbolically with their hopes and dreams, but due to Storm Pia the bonfire was cancelled this year. (Photo by Andy Gardner/Story Picture Agency)





Palestinian women cry where a relative is believed to be trapped in debris following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo)





Participants on Saturday, December 2, 2023 ahead of the Whitby Krampus Run in Whitby, Yorkshire, UK which celebrates the Krampus, a horned creature which accompanies Saint Nicholas on his rounds. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)





Hungary's Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko perform in the gala exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing on December 10, 2023. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)





Women wear traditional Hanfu clothing as they have their pictures taken outside the Forbidden City during a snowfall on December 13, 2023 in Beijing, China. Chinas capital Beijing and other parts of northern China saw the seasons first blasts of winter this week with colder than average temperatures and snowfall and closing schools for two days as a precaution. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)