Christmas 2010 - your photos

A few weeks ago, I invited you, the readers of The Big Picture, to submit your own images of Christmas 2010. It was another experiment, I was hoping for high quality, personal images and was not disappointed once again. Several hundred submissions came in from around the world, and I thank every one of you for participating. Looking back on the Christmas season one last time, I present the following collection of reader-submitted photographs - and invite you to see Christmas through their eyes. Captions written by the photographers. (42 photos total)

Sweet Christmas Tree made from Honey Cake, which are prepared one month before Christmas.
Typical for Slovak Christmas. (© Matus Vencurik)

2

My grandson distributed gifts for the first time in his life, in Frankfurt, Germany on December 24th, 2010, (© Andreas Meer)

3

Snowflakes after a heavy snow fall near Saint Nizier du Moucherotte, France December 22, 2010. (© Christophe Le Besnerais)

4

A gnome making dreams come true. Jakarta, Mall Kelapa Gading, on December 17th, 2010. (© Nikolay Titov)

5

A Christmas tree powered by a solar generator sits at the top of Twin Peaks, San Francisco on December 18, 2010. (© Mike Matas)

6

We can see one of the best holiday lighting decoration show at Bellevue Botanical Garden in the Northwest. I feel the display is the best in last several years. I tried to paint the image by using blurriness with shallow depth of field and color dot explosion. (© Yoshiki Nakamura)

7

A competitor in the elite men's race of U.S. National Cyclocross Championships in Bend, Oregon gets loud support from a chorus of Santa helpers on December 12, 2010. (© Jay Mather)

8

An old barn is seen at twilight decorated with a giant wreath for the holidays Wednesday December 22, 2010 in Novi, Michigan a suburb of Detroit. (© Bryan Mitchell)

9

Some playtime between the Christmas day meals in Stenungsund, Sweden. (© Magnus Rudolfsson)

10

Graffitists wish the world a Merry Christmas on the Israeli/West Bank Barrier on Christmas Day 2010. (© Jonathan Tsai)

11

Christmas at Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia. It felt like the entire city went out to the beach enjoying a perfect cloudless 30°C Christmas Day. (© Herbert Heinsche)

12

Clear and Sunny Christmas day at the Phoenix park, Dublin, Ireland (© Murali.S)

13

Ninety seven year old AJ Guma tries to tune Hannah Shea's play guitar as his granddaughter Sarah Shea places another bow on his head on December 24, 2010 in Metairie, Louisiana. (© Thomas B. Shea)

14

Decoration on a Christmas Tree in Ho Chi Minh City during my visit to Vietnam on December 28, 2010. (© Mohd Haminar Rashid)

15

Walking the dog on 2nd Christmas day while the sun goes down in the afternoon over a snow covered field in the Netherlands. (© Jeroen Diderik)

16

The Oft-Dreaded Christmas Photoshoot, Orlando, Florida. Always chosen on the worst day at the worst time, parents all over the country spring for bribes and props if they are wise. (© John Cobb)

17

The night after Christmas, with snow blanketing much of the northeast, the MTA shut down several subway lines forcing many to return home by foot. (© Ari Joseph)

18

Christmas ships became a tradition in Seattle. Bonfire enhances the warm holiday spirit at Gas Works Park, Lake Union, Seattle. (© Yoshiki Nakamura)

19

My mom opening her gift. We may not have much, but we already have everything we need which is family. Photo taken in Stockton, California. (© Ari Simphoukham)

20

A family poses for a picture after seeing "The Nutcracker" at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 20th, 2010. (© Lydia Wagner)

21

The Mitchell family sits around a backyard campfire to roast marshmallows on December 24, 2010, Christmas Eve, in Northville, Michigan a suburb of Detroit. They started the tradition 2 years ago. Sitting left to right are, Max Mitchell, 6, Alice Mitchell, 39, Andrew Wescott, Macey Mitchell, 8 and Lynn Mitchell. (© Bryan Mitchell)

22

Seth Lanthier's first Christmas, as he stares at the Christmas tree in awe. Photo taken on December 25, 2010. (© Stephen Lanthier)

23

Christmas Glory. Photo was taken in the evening of Christmas day when the clouds were coming up to the summit at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands. The shadow in the middle is due to the building of the Isaac Newton Telescope, the other two are of the telescopes of Jacobus Kapteyn and Mercator. (© Brigitta Sipőcz)

24

"Holiday Wishes, Celebrate the Spirit of the Season" fireworks light the night sky during a pyrotechnics show orchestrated to holiday melodies at the Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida on December 21st, 2010. (© Kamal Sellehuddin)

25

Children (of all ages) sledding on Boston Common on December 27, 2010. (© Maris Handley)

26

The Canadian War Cemetery at Holten is lit by candles on Christmas eve, December 24th 2010, (© Jan van de Maat)

27

Life has surprises for many, rich or poor. Selling Santa's costume, this roadside vendor has her own way of celebrating the joyous festival in Ahmedabad, India. (© Manish Mistry)

28

Very intense winds created an almost apocalyptic setting on the streets of Park Slope, Brooklyn the day after the massive blizzard hit New York City. This shot was taken on December 27th, 2010. (© Navid Baraty)

29

Papier mache (Kashmir's decorative art) bells hang in a local shop in Delhi, India on Christmas eve 2010. (© Ashu Mittal)

30

Santas and Santarinas throw Christmas presents here In Melaka, 200KM from the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There is a small Portuguese community here in Malaysia that celebrates Christmas. Only 9% of Malaysians are Christian, with the majority (60%) being Muslim. (© Syahrin Abdul Aziz)

31

Children of all ages are fully enjoying winter, especially the snow, on December 28 2010 in Cupcini, Moldova. (© Paul Sanduleac)

32

Candle lighting in a church in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 19th, 2010. (© Henry Kusuma Wong)

33

Midnight mass in progress at a small church in Gurgaon, Haryana, India on 24th December, 2010. (© Priyanka Sachar)

34

Farmers at Mount Merapi's slope, Central Java, Indonesia, celebrate Christmas by blessing a spring. This year's celebration theme is "Sang Toya Yekti" which means "water that gives prosperity". The celebration is conducted amidst recovery effort after Mount Merapi eruption recently. (© Rahmad Gunawan)

35

A detailed picture of the Christmas tree on Capibaribe River, in the city of Recife, Brazil. The tree is made of pirated CDs confiscated in police operations against piracy. (© Américo Nunes)

36

A woman with her infant prays outside the All Saints Cathedral in Allahabad, India on Christmas Day. (© Almeen Arif)

37

Historic White Christmas in Central Alabama. My boys having fun in it. (© Grethel Van Epps)

38

A Nun plays the organ during the Midnight Mass in Presov, in eastern Slovakia. (© Matus Vencurik)

39

Beautiful sunset at the center of Asunción. We can see the traditional Christmas tree made of lights hanging from the antenna of Channel 9 on the horizon in Asunción, Paraguay on December 12th, 2010. (© Bayena Sosa)

40

It's a full moon over the castle Cathar Roquefixade (France). The stars begin to move and swirl above the castle! Lacks only the sword of Excalibur! (© Stéphane Meurisse)

41

This photo was taken in my city, Odorheiu-Secuiesc, Romania. On Christmas Eve, in downtown, thousands of people from the city came and prayed together. After the prayer, everybody launched these hot air balloons. The meaning of this event was to send the prayers up, into the sky. (© Dragos Asaftei)

42

Piper and Maysie Henderson open a gift in Quincy, Massachusetts. (© Brian Henderson)