Christmas season around the Mena region – in pictures
Female worshippers chant at Christmas morning mass in the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Qamishli, Syria. AFP
Christian devotees take part in a Christmas prayer at St John's Cathedral Church in Peshawar. AFP
Christian worshippers listen to the Christmas Eve mass inside the Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus in Podgorica, Montenegro. AFP
People gather round a Christmas tree in Beirut's Martyr Square. AFP
A priest swings burners with incense at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Cairo. AP
Egyptian Catholic nuns pray during the Christmas Eve mass at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Cairo. AP
Christian worshippers attend a Christmas morning service at the Catholic Co-Cathedral of the Holy Family in Kuwait City. AFP
A woman takes a selfie outside the Catholic Co-Cathedral of the Holy Family in Kuwait City on Christmas Day. AFP
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, holds a midnight Christmas mass at the Church of the Nativity in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem. EPA
Visitors inside the holy cave at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. Reuters
A Palestinian makes olive wood souvenirs near the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. Reuters
A Palestinian youth looks at Santa Claus dolls at a shop in Gaza city. AP
A man controls a drone fixed to a Santa Claus figurine, in Aintoura, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
Santa Claus - real name Issa Kassissieh - swaps his traditional reindeer for a camel at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters
A Christmas tree towers inside a mall in Hazmieh, Lebanon. Reuters
A 'Santa Claus' next to graffiti reading 'Palestine' in Arabic on Israel's separation wall in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. AFP
Parade members play music at the Christmas market in Byblos, Lebanon. Reuters
A Palestinian takes a selfie near a Christmas tree in Gaza city. AFP
The Christmas tree in Al Hatab Square in Aleppo, Syria. AFP
An Iraqi family decorates a Christmas tree at their house in Basra. AP
Issa Kassissieh, dressed as Santa Claus, on Mount Precipice near Nazareth in northern Israel. Reuters
Santa's Grotto in Galleria Mall, Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
A Palestinian crafts figurines at a workshop in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. AFP
Christmas decoration in The Greens, Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
Winter Wonderland at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
Daniel Shawky, 5, in snow at Winter Wonderland, held outside Galleria Mall, Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Visitors watch fireworks at Winter Wonderland Kuwait, during its grand opening in Kuwait City. AFP
Workers set up a Christmas tree in Al Hatab Square, in Aleppo, northern Syrian. The city has been devastated in the country's civil war. AFP
Santa Claus attends a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters
Fireworks at the lighting of a Christmas tree at the Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. AFP
A 18-metre Christmas tree stands at the gateway to Bnachii Lake, Zgharta district, northern Lebanon. It was made using 108,000 discarded plastic bottles. EPA
People gather round a giant Christmas tree, which was officially lit up in Byblos, Lebanon. EPA
Palestinians attend a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Gaza city, organised by the YMCA. EPA
Byblos, Lebanon. Reuters
Festivities in the Ashrafieh district of Lebanon's capital, Beirut. EPA
Ashrafieh, Beirut. EPA
Festive revellers greet Santa in Sassine Square, Beirut. AFP
Fireworks illuminate Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
Palestinians dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs Claus lead festivities in Bethlehem. Reuters
Visitors admire seasonal illuminations to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the Beirut Souks district of Lebanon's capital. EPA
Shoppers throng beneath the festive illuminations at Beirut Souks. EPA
A crowd watches a festive dance show at Beirut Souks. EPA
A woman and her child visit the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, in Bethlehem, at the start of Advent. AP
A stall at the Christmas market in the West Bank city of Ramallah. EPA
