Faces of Santa

Motorcyclists dressed as Santa Claus ride on the Piazza Venezia as they tour of central Rome on December 20.

Alexei Trifonov, a member of the "Rescuer" state regional service, dressed as Santa Claus, looks through a roof window as he prepares to bring holiday cheer to employees of the Russian Emergencies Ministry and their children ahead of New Year and Christmas celebrations in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, December 24.

Santa Claus visits a sick child at the Children's Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw, Poland, on December 24. Traditionaly, children in Poland receive their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve.

A displaced Christian boy wears a Santa Claus costume during a celebration at a school that was turned into a shelter a day before the Christmas holiday in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, December 24.

Members of a Lebanese water ski club wear a Santa Claus costumes, one with a national flag, while they perform in the bay of Jounieh, north of the Lebanese capital of Beirut on December 24.

Volunteers in Santa Claus costumes give free hair cuts to children at a welfare house to celebrate the upcoming Christmas festivities in Handan, China, on December 24.

Students dressed as Santa Claus participate in Christmas celebrations at a school in Jammu, India, on December 24.

Workers in a Santa Claus and reindeer costume clean windows outside a shopping mall along Tokyo's waterfront on December 24. The costumes were worn as part of a Christmas promotional event to attract shoppers.

Women in Santa Claus-themed bikinis ski at a resort in Xuchang, China on December 23.

Santa Claus waves to the crowd from his flying sleigh drawn by reindeer over the Geneva Lake and in front of the Swiss and French alps during the 20th edition of the Christmas Market in Montreux, Switzerland, on December 23.

A man dressed as Santa Claus dances in central Rome's Piazza Navona on December 23, during the traditional Christmas festivities.

Santa Claus gives sweets to a man in Beijing on December 23.

An Indian woman and child watch a man dressed as Santa Claus during a Christmas carnival procession in Mumbai on December 23.

A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus costume runs over walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, on December 22.

A Hindu devotee wearing a Santa Claus costume walks after cleaning a part of the banks of the river Ganges in the northern Indian city of Allahabad December 23.

Indian children of tribal families follow a man dressed as Santa Claus who was distributing solar lamps to families, inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Mumbai, India, on December 23. The tribal families do not have electricity so as part of a project, around 20 homes were given solar lanterns.

People dressed as Santa Claus ride their gondolas past the Rialto bridge in Venice on December 21.

Motorcyclists dressed in Santa Claus and reindeer outfits ride down the streets in downtown Tokyo during a Christmas "toy run" by the Harley Santa Club on December 23.

An employee of Shiniuzhai Scenic Resort dressed as Santa Claus hangs beside a cable car as he presents gifts to visitors, in Pingjiang, China, on December 20. Picture taken December 20.

A girl kisses a Santa Claus at the Intercontinental hotel of Beijing, on December,19.

A member of the Amigos do Papai Noel (Friends of Santa Claus group) talks to children before giving out gifts to them in Sao Jose in Careiro da Várzea, a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, located along the Amazon River banks on December 20.

A diver dressed as Santa Claus feeds sting rays and fish for a special underwater season show at Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo, Japan, December 22.

A man dressed as Santa Claus rides a Segway as he delivers gifts at the Christmas market in Hamburg, Germany on December 19.

Carlos Bahia, dressed as Santa Claus, poses with his board at the Maresias beach, in the state of Sao Paulo December 9. In the Southern Hemisphere summer starts on December 1, so while countries in the north are experiencing a white Christmas with grey skies, those in the south are busy surfing and sunbathing in temperatures just shy of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

A King Penguin pecks at a man dressed as Santa Claus at the animal exhibition park Marineland in Antibes, southern France, on December 19.

A man dressed up as Santa Claus bungee jumps at a theme park in Changsha, China on December 18.

Congressman David Cortez, dressed as Santa Claus, waves at the entrance of the national congress building in La Paz, Bolivia on December 18. Every year Cortez dresses as Santa Claus as he participates in a congress session to wish his colleagues a merry Christmas, reported local media.

A diver dressed in a pink Santa suit feeds fish at a celebration of the naming of a baby pink dolphin at Underwater World Singapore on December 18. The first male baby pink dolphin was born at Underwater World Singapore on July 15 and has been named Splish.

A man dressed as Santa Claus helps families choose their trees at Sydney Christmas Tree Farm at Duffy's Forest on December 13 in Sydney, Australia.

A man in a Santa Claus costume drives his Vespa during a parade at the main coastal avenue in southern port city of Limassol, Cyprus on December 14.

A visitor waves to a woman dressed as a Santa mermaid as she performs from inside a tank at the Sao Paulo Aquarium on December 17. According to organizers, the performance aims to narrate about the myth and legend of mermaids.

A man dressed a s Santa Claus waves to passers-by on the roof of the Kollhoff Tower at Potsdamer Platz square in Berlin on December 14.

Donald Boyce, dressed up like Santa Claus, waves to surfers as he goes outrigger canoe surfing off Waikiki beach in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 13.

Thousands of runners dressed in Santa outfits compete in the annual Carrera de Papa Noel (Santa Claus Run), in Madrid, on December 13.

A man, dressed as Santa Claus, waits to board a train at a subway station as part of a promotional event by a bank in Sao Paulo, Brazil on December 12.

James Shofflett high-fives Santa during the annual 65th Children's Christmas Party on December 10, in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Santa Cluas and Mrs. Claus get off a C130 military transport plane in Shishmaref, Alaska on Dec. 6, 2014. The Alaska National Guard provided transport for the good Samaritan program Operation Santa, which took gifts and schools supplies to about 300 children in the Inupiat Eskimo community.

Vitor Martins displays one of his Christmas tattoos inside his house, before a performance with children in Sao Caetano do Sul's town square, near Sao Paulo, on December 7. Martins has dressed as Santa Claus, working at shopping centers and various events, for fifteen years, and has 94 percent of his body covered in tattoos, with several in reference to Christmas.

Neorah Reliford, 4, left, of Newark, N.J., is greeted by Santa Claus upon arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport during a fictional flight to the North Pole, on December 10, in Newark, N.J. The flight entitled Fantasy Flight catered to a group of sick children from Newark Liberty International Airport to Santa's workshop at a fantasy North Pole. The jetliner departed the airport and flew for about an hour before landing back at a gate decorated like the North Pole.

Seoul city bus drivers dressed as Santa Claus pose with their buses decorated like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer at a garage in northern Seoul, South Korea, on December 8. The 'Rudolph buses' will run on Seoul streets until the middle of January 2015.

People dressed in Santa suits run along the Darling Harbor boardwalk during the 2014 Variety Santa Fun Run on December 7 in Sydney, Australia. Variety is the children's charity committed to help Australian children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs.

Brayden Knowles, 2, greets Santa Claus, with brother Brynlie, 4, at The Plaza, King of Prussia Mall, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania on December 6.

Skiers and snowboarders dressed as Santa Claus are reflected in a skier's goggles before participating in a charity run down a slope at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine on December 7.

Father Frost, Russian Santa Claus, carries a bag of presents on December 19, in a forest in Kostroma, Russia.