“Krampus is a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Yule season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A participant dressed as the Krampus creature pulls a barrel of fire past onlookers during his search for delinquent children in Neustift im Stubaital. (Photo by Sean Gallup)

The Kazakhs are the descendants of Turkic, Mongolic and Indo-Iranian tribes and Huns that populated the territory between Siberia and the Black Sea. They are a semi-nomadic people and have roamed the mountains and valleys of western Mongolia with their herds since the 19th century. The ancient art of eagle hunting is one of many traditions and skills that the Kazakhs have, in recent decades, been able to hold on to. They rely on their clan and herds, believing in pre-Islamic cults of the sky, the ancestors, fire and the supernatural forces of good and evil spirits.

A woman dressed in a dirndl, a kind of traditional Bavarian clothing, jumps into Lake Schlier on July 30, 2006 in Schliersee, Germany. The event called "Dirndlfliegen" ("Dirndl Flying") was sponsored by a local fashion store and a big Austrian Dirndl manufacturer. While these kind of events had been held in Austria before, this was the first of its kind in Germany. 29 women and one man wearing a wig participated in the event that held a new Dirndl as the grand prize. (Photo by Andreas Leder/Getty Images)

“Serebro (Серебро, Silver) are a Russian trio, formed in Moscow, Russia in 2006. Serebro is currently one of the most popular Russian bands. They are also famously known as the band who finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with the song “Song #1”. On 30 July 2011, Serebro premiered their eighth single, “Mama Lover” at Europa Plus Live. It is their third official English language release after “Song #1” and “Like Mary Warner”. On 15 September 2011, the music video for “Mama Luba” (Russian version of “Mama Lover”) was released”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Russian trio «Serebro», 2008

The Upside Down Room, with furniture on the ceiling and real beds and chairs that open out of the floor, is one of many creative and even bizarre rooms shown photographed February 14, 2002 at the Propeller Island City Lodge in Berlin, Germany. Owner, artist and musician Lars Stroschen designed the rooms of the hotel, which has 28 rooms and has been open since June, 2001. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

A penguin swims in its enclosure during a photocall to promote London Zoo's annual stock take of animals on January 4, 2012 in London, England. The zoo's stocktake takes place annually, and gives keepers a chance to check on the numbers of every one of the animals from stick insects and frogs to tigers and camels. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Maintenance engineer Darren Unsworth cleans one of the crystal Edwardian chandeliers that illuminate Blackpool Tower Ballroom on January 16, 2012 in Blackpool, England. Blackpool's famous Tower Ballroom is undergoing an annual spring clean which includes lowering the ornate chandeliers where each shard of crystal is cleaned for the coming season of dancing. The dance floor consisting of 30,602 blocks of mahogany, oak and walnut is also sanded and polished to give the perfect dance floor. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

“MS Herald of Free Enterprise was a roll-on roll-off (RORO) car and passenger ferry owned by Townsend Thoresen. She was one of three ships commissioned by the company to operate on the Dover–Calais route across the English Channel. The ferry capsized on the night of 6 March 1987, moments after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, killing 193 passengers and crew. This was the deadliest maritime disaster involving a British ship in peacetime since the sinking of the Iolaire in 1919”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The wreck of the Herald of Free Enterprise, which capsized near Zeebrugge on the 6th of March 1987. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1987