Holiday lights are everywhere – and they look a little different in each place. In recent weeks, Associated Press photographers have been documenting sparkling scenes around the world.
Gallery
Moscow: Red Square through the window of the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski
(Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
In the village of Jemez Springs, New Mexico, traditional luminaries, also known as farolitos, illuminated the Jemez Historic Site during the annual "Lights of Gisewa" event held last week.
That same day, on the other side of the world in Moscow, one could peer out the window of the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel toward St. Basil's Cathedral and the GUM department store, illuminated with festive lights for the holidays.
Traditional luminaries, also known as farolitos, twinkle across the historic Jemez site during the annual "Light Among the Ruins" event in J
(Photo: Susan Montoya Bryan/AP)
A carousel in Red Square, Moscow
(Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/AP)
Moskva River, Russia
(Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
Meanwhile in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the local zoo, performers in glowing costumes with wings greeted visitors to the Christmas Lights Festival.
The Christmas Lights Festival at the Johannesburg Zoo, South Africa
(Photo: Jerome Delay/AP)
And in New York, the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center stands in all its glory – a Norway spruce from a small town in Massachusetts, decorated with 50,000 colored lights. At the top of the giant tree is a Swarovski star crown, adorned with three million crystals.
Giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, New York
(Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
Coco Jones performs during the 92nd Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
(Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
"Lightscape" exhibition at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
(Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
In Germany, a 42-meter-high, bright red candle (a medieval tower, actually) shone in the historic center of the city of Schlitz in late November. In Milan, Italy, it was a symphony of gold as people stood on a bridge and Christmas lights illuminated the Drasna dei Navigli, the neighborhood named after the canals that run through the area.
A 42-meter-tall candle, actually an illuminated medieval tower, glows in the historic center of Schlitz, Germany
(Photo: Michael Probst/AP)
Milan, Italy
(Photo: Antonio Calanni/AP)
Reindeer figures sparkled in Hong Kong as part of the Christmas decorations on the promenade. In Tokyo, people strolled through an entire forest of sparkling trees in the Roppongi area, decorated with hundreds of thousands of blue LED lights.
Hong Kong: The Victoria Harbour Promenade
( Photo: Chan Long Hei/AP)
Tokyo: People stroll among the annual year-end lights in the Roppongi area
(Photo: Eugene Hoshiko/AP)
At the Houston Space Center, a child jumped between colorful circles, part of a space-themed holiday light display, next to a model of the Space Shuttle Independence. In London, illuminated angels spread their wings above Regent Street, thanks to hundreds of thousands of LED lights on the busy shopping street.
The shuttle "Independence" at Space Center Houston
(Photo: Ashley Landis/AP)
Covent Garden, London
(Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
Visitors walk through the "Cathedral" at the Christmas Lights Trail, now in its 12th year, featuring new installations within the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of Kew Gardens, London
(Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
Regent Street, London
(Photo: Kin Cheung/AP)
And sometimes, nature does its own magic. That's exactly what happened when a supermoon rose last month in Santiago, Chile, perfectly surrounded by festive star-shaped street lights.
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The supermoon shines behind streetlights in Santiago, Chile
(Photo: Matias Basualdo/AP)
A Christmas wreath and lights adorn the surf shack at Windansea Beach in San Diego
(Photo: Gregory Bull/AP)
Lisbon, Portugal
( Photo: Armando Franca/AP)
Cologne Zoo, Germany
( Photo: Martin Meissner/AP)
A giant inflatable Santa Claus decorates the stall of a Christmas tree vendor on the outskirts of Frankfurt
(Photo: Michael Probst/AP)
Cheekwood Gardens in Nashville, Tennessee
( Photo: George Walker IV/AP)
A pair of 12-meter-tall cowboy boots adorned with lights for the holidays
(Photo: Eric Gay/AP)
Christmas lights in a park in Belén de Caxapa, Kansas
(Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP)
The "Wiener Christkindlmarkt" Christmas market in front of Vienna's City Hall
(Photo: Christian Bruna/AP)
Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania
(Photo: Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)
Christmas Festival decoration display at an open-air mall in Beijing
(Photo: Andy Wong/AP)
Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea
(Photo: Lee Jin-man/AP)