A woman looks at gingerbread hearts at a Christmas market at the Charlottenburg castle in Berlin, Germany. Photo: REUTERS

Props are put into place ahead of the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Photo: Getty

Christmas illuminations light the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, France. Photo: Getty

Penguins clad in Christmas-themed outfits walk next to staff dressed as Santa Claus at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. Photo: REUTERS

Tom Morton (top L) and Rick Brown (top R) unload approximately 700 Fraser Fir Christmas trees for sale, with the help of Joseph Smith (bottom R), at Morton's seasonal lot in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Photo: REUTERS

A Christmas teddy bear is wheeled along on a trolley at the Steiff stuffed toy factory in Giengen an der Brenz, Germany. Photo: Getty

Nativity scene in the Melbourne City Square. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo

Tourists visit the traditional Christkindelsmaerik (Christ Child market) near Strasbourg Cathedral in eastern France. Photo: REUTERS

Traffic makes its way along a busy New Bond Street beneath the Christmas lights in London, England. Photo: Getty

The 2012 US Capitol Christmas Tree is set up on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Photo: Getty

An employee hand paints glass Christmas and New Year decorations at the 'Biryusinka' toy factory in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Photo: REUTERS

Visitors walk past a stall selling illuminated Christmas stars at the annual Christmas market at Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Getty