The 100-metre (300-foot), sword-wielding statue of “The Motherland” is seen in the National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War in Kiev March 17, 2014. On a blustery day on the banks of the Dnieper, the statue of “The Motherland”, a Soviet hammer and sickle on her shield, towered overhead, a reminder of the common cause Ukrainians and Russians died for side by side in their millions in World War Two and which Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks Ukraine has betrayed by turning to “fascism” and the West. (Photo by Konstantin Grishin/Reuters)

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.

Nigel Lamb from Great Britain, left, leading Juan Velarde of Spain, centre, and Martin Šonka of Czech Republic in the FAI Red Bull air race, Isle of Wight, UK on August 9, 2016. (Photo by Joerg Mitter/Red Bull/Global New/PA Wire)

One-year-old female giant panda cub Nuan Nuan reacts inside her enclosure during joint birthday celebrations for the panda and its ten-year-old mother Liang Liang at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur on August 23, 2016. Giant pandas Liang Liang, aged 10, and her Malaysian-born cub Nuan Nuan, 1, were born on August 23, 2006 and August 18, 2015 respectivetly. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A shop assistant creates a window display in a Next store in central London December 30, 2014. British clothing retailer Next's sales rose 2.9 percent in the run up to Christmas mostly due to online and catalogue purchases, hitting the upper end of its predictions and it said full-year profit would rise by about 11.5 percent. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

A ring-tailed lemur is pictured at Zoom Torino, a zoological park in Cumiana near Turin, on April 22, 2015. Zoom Torino is a new immersive zoological park, where animals can be seen without bars or cages, only natural barriers ensure the visit. (Photo by Marco Bertorello/AFP Photo)

Salcomp players huddle at the center of the pitch of Arena da Amazonia after winning the Peladao amateur soccer tournament in Manaus, Brazil, Saturday, February 16, 2019. It is the team's second title, the first was in 2011. (Photo by Victor R. Caivano/AP Photo)