In pictures: World celebrates Christmas Published duration 25 December 2018

Services are being held around the world as Christians mark the birth of Christ.

Here is our selection of some of the best images so far.

image copyright AFP/Getty Images image caption At a Christmas Eve Mass in the Vatican, Pope Francis urged more "sharing and giving", denouncing the "insatiable greed" of modern consumerism

image copyright EPA image caption In Egypt, this little girl listened attentively during a church service in Cairo

image copyright AFP image caption Celebrations were held at this church in Fuyang, China's eastern Anhui province

image copyright EPA image caption Indian Christians took part in prayers at the Infant Jesus Church in Bangalore

image copyright Reuters image caption This woman prayed during a Christmas service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Pakistani city of Lahore

image copyright EPA image caption People queued at this church in Bangkok to touch the baby Jesus doll in its Nativity scene

image copyright Reuters image caption These altar boys played a key role during celebrations in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo

image copyright Reuters image caption A young boy, part of a group of thousands of migrants travelling from Central America to the US, celebrated at a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico

image copyright AFP image caption A Mass on Christmas Eve was held at a stadium in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city

image copyright AFP image caption Members of a Berlin swimming club took their traditional Christmas bath at the city's Orankesee lake

image copyright EPA image caption Meanwhile, this couple kissed by a Christmas tree in Istanbul, Turkey

image copyright Getty Images image caption Families at Sydney's Bondi Beach celebrated in the middle of the southern hemisphere's summer

image copyright Reuters image caption A Christian community attended a Mass at Santa Maria Church in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

image copyright AFP/Getty Images image caption In France, so-called "yellow vests" protesters held a service at a roundabout in the northern town of Somain

All photographs belong to the copyright holders as marked.