Photos: Here comes the Santa Claus to make merry

People dressed as Santa Claus take part in a Santa Claus Run in Athens, Greece

A man dressed as Santa Claus (Father Christmas) interacts with a child in a house that belongs to Serge Hennebel, nicknamed "Elf Serge" and is transformed into a Christmas village adorned with hundreds of lights, in Hamme-Mille, Belgium

A visitor gestures in front of a diver dressed as Santa Claus inside a fish tank at the Aquaria KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A Greenpeace activist pickets near a Christmas tree and a figure of Ded Moroz, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, during a protest against importing radioactive waste into Russia for storage in Saint Petersburg

Participants dressed as Santa Claus before they taking part in the annual race known as "Run Santa Run" in Mexico City

Carlos Bahia, dressed as Santa Claus, surfs at the Maresias beach in Sao Sebastiao, hometown of WSL World Champion Gabriel Medina, Sao Paulo state, Brazil

A boy watches Volmer de Aguiar Salvador, dressed as a Santa Claus, swimming with fish at the aquarium of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Street musicians dressed as Santas perform on the banks of Lake Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland

A man wearing a Santa Claus outfit attends a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Jerusalem's Old City

A demonstrator offers flowers as he wears Santa Claus costume during ongoing anti-government protests in Najaf, Iraq

Runners dressed as Santa Claus take part in the Christmas Corrida Race on the streets of Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France

A man dressed as Santa Claus holds a dog as he takes part in the charity Santa Fun Run in Riga, Latvia

A man dressed as Santa Claus interacts with a child at Gerardo Barrios Square in San Salvador, El Salvador

A man dressed as Santa Claus carries a cross as he walks amidst people gathering to attend a candlelight carol service ahead of Christmas celebrations at the Eternal Life Ministries Church in Lahore, Pakistan

Revelers dressed as Santa Claus take part in the event called SantaCon at Times Square in New York City

Competitors prepare to take part in the London Santa Run in Victoria Park, London, Britain

A diver dressed as Santa Claus plays with zebra sharks inside a fish tank at the Malta National Aquarium in Qawra, Malta

A man dressed in a Santa Claus outfit greets visitors during the Christmas season in Jerusalem's Old City

Belarusians dressed as Santa Clauses swim in a kayak during country's Santa Run in Minsk, Belarus

Revelers dressed as Santa Claus at a local restaurant as they take part in the event called SantaCon in New York City.

Divers dressed as Santa Claus and an angel, feed fishes inside a fish tank at the Sea Life aquarium in Berlin, Germany