In pictures: Cards from across Iraq bring Christmas cheer to Christians

Christmas greeting cards to be delivered to residents of the Iraqi Christian town of Qaraqosh before their delivery, from Mosul (top L, bottom) and Basra (top R) with printed messages speaking about devotion to Iraq, its people, and its heritage; and handwritten personalised messages delivering season's greetings.

It wasn't Santa on a sleigh, but it was close: just before dusk on Christmas eve, a busload of volunteers pulled into the Iraqi Christian town of Qaraqosh to deliver holiday happiness. | Above: Medical students present a signed personalised Christmas greeting card in Basra.

The cards came from all over Iraq: the capital Baghdad, the shrine city of Najaf, Salahaddin in the west, Mosul nearby and Duhok even further north. | Above: A brick-layer presents a personalised Christmas greeting card in Basra.

On foot, members of Iraq's Tahawer (Dialogue) initiative and other volunteers delivered some 1,400 cards across the northern Christian town of Qaraqosh. | Above: A Shiite Muslim cleric writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card.

Medical students write personalised messages on Christmas greeting cards. In addition to the handwritten messages, each card bore a special hand-drawn symbol of the province from which it was sent.

A fish merchant writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card. Iraq's Christians number around 400,000 today, down from some 1.5 million before the US-led invasion toppled longtime dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

A young man writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card while sitting near the Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr suspension bridge over the Shatt al-Arab river

A member of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command presents a personalised Christmas greeting card

A woman presents a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card

A merchant writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card

An Iraqi police official writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card

A medical student writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card

A man writes a personalised message on a Christmas greeting card

A man holding a Christmas greeting card while standing by the Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr suspension bridge over the Shatt al-Arab river