Priests lead a procession on a cold Lithuanian night. A colorful celebration is brightened by candlelight in Mexico. Santa seems to appear everywhere, including on a street corner in the capital city of Cuba.

Christmas, the traditional Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus, is being celebrated by people around the world, as has been done for centuries. For days and weeks leading up to Dec. 25, the city streets, homes and churches have been adorned with lights along with red and green decorations, capturing the optimism of the season.

Some draped evergreen trees in ornaments and tinsel, and many attended Mass or other religious ceremonies. Children in many places waited for Santa Claus to come bearing presents.

From the biblical birthplace of Jesus in the West Bank city of Bethlehem to the coastal suburbs of Florida, photographers captured these images of people gathered with family, friends and communities to observe the holiday.

Ms. Harris’s speech in Georgia, a top battleground state where she has narrowly trailed in polls, signaled a more combative and nimble approach in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign. On Monday, ProPublica reported that the deaths of two women in the state were a result of delayed treatment after receiving medication abortions, episodes that occurred in the months after Georgia passed a 2022 law banning abortion at six weeks. Two days later, Ms. Harris’s campaign announced that she would travel to the state to highlight their stories.

An Orthodox Christian worshipper lighting a candle at a Christmas mass at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Pope Francis delivered his traditional Christmas Day Urbi et Orbi speech from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

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