Many nations will see a muted Christmas this year as restrictions on visiting friends and relatives abound.
But cities around the world are bringing the festive spirit nonetheless, with brilliant sparkling displays of lights.
Take a look at our gallery to see cities before and after their decorations were unveiled.
More on Christmas:
Inside the Dubai home with a snowmaker and candy cane backyard
Quranic verses and Christmas lights: my multifaith family's holidays
As a Papal visit approaches, Iraqi Christians still worry for their safety
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
While you're here
Mustafa Alrawi:Â To get the 'jab' done, there must be patience and empathy
Damien McElroy:Â Anti-science attitudes in America are proving lethal
Editorial:Â What makes the UAE such a good place to test vaccines?
Editorial:Â The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science
Combating coronavirus
National editorial:Â global co-operation is key to beating coronavirus
National editorial:Â pandemic requires urgent action from world leaders
Nick March:Â the coronavirus dark cloud may have a silver lining
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Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Age: 35
Inspiration: Wife and kidsÂ
Favourite book: Changes all the time but my new favourite is Thinking, Fast and Slow  by Daniel Kahneman
Best Travel Destination: Bora Bora , French PolynesiaÂ
Favourite run:Â Jabel Hafeet, I also enjoy running the 30km loop in Al Wathba cycling track
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Company profile
Name:Â Tharb
Started:Â December 2016
Founder:Â Eisa Alsubousi
Based:Â Abu Dhabi
Sector:Â Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
Â
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
-     Don’t do it more than once in three days
-     Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
-Â Â Â Â Â Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
-Â Â Â Â Â Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
-Â Â Â Â Â Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
-Â Â Â Â Â Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
-Â Â Â Â Â Manage your sleep
-Â Â Â Â Â People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
-Â Â Â Â Â Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
COMPANY%20PROFILE
Kanguva
The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.