Another COVID Christmas — in pictures

Holiday makers gather for Christmas at Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach near the city of Mombasa. The beach reopened to the public two months ago as COVID numbers went down.

Children watch a Christmas performance in the Mamera neighborhood of Caracas, which also organized a soup kitchen.

Worshipers wear face masks and maintain social distancing while attending a Christmas service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul. South Korea mandates churches to accept only a limited number of visitors. Attendees must also be fully vaccinated.

Winter swimmers take a dip in the partially frozen Orankesee lake as part of a traditional Christmas swimming event in Berlin.

Devotees pray during a Christmas day mass at the Quiapo church in Manila. All worshipers were required to wear face masks and stand at a safe distance from each other. Only a fraction were permitted inside the church due to COVID restrictions.

Archbishop of Montreal Christian Lepine gives communion to worshipers who attended an outdoor Christmas mass in the parking lot of the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral.

Volunteer workers in Cape Town were busy organizing Christmas food and gifts for the elderly at the Emmanuel Worship Center.

School children dressed in festive outfits receive gifts from elephants and an elephant trainer in Ayuthaya, Thailand. Animal rights group PETA called for the event to be canceled due to the stress this causes for the elephants.

In Moscow, believers donned masks — and a toothy grin — to attend a midnight mass service at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Christmas Eve.

A zoo worker feeds a penguin during the Christmas season in the Zlin Zoo, Czech Republic.

Doctors and nurses share a Christmas Eve meal together in an intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients at the Timone hospital in Marseille, France. The Timone hospital is Marseille's largest.

People walk through a crowded Tokyo street illuminated with Christmas lights. Japan barred entry for foreign travelers on November 30, a measure set to last until the end of the month.

A woman attends midnight mass at the Tewatta Basilica Church, Ragama, Sri Lanka. The Tewatta basilica is often visited by Roman Catholic pilgrims and is known for its atypical architecture.