(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious practice around the world. This week’s includes images from the Christmas market in Schwerin, Germany; the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem; the upcoming “Magh Mela” festival in Allahabad, India; a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, Afghanistan; the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican — and more.
A seagull sits in front of a ferris wheel at the Christmas market in Schwerin, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A worshipper prays inside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Sadhus or Hindu holy men prepare their tent for the upcoming “Magh Mela” festival in Allahabad, India,Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus are expected to immerse themselves at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati Rivers during a period believed to be astronomically auspicious that begins later this month. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
This image, made available by LinkMenu fabrikas on Friday Dec. 22, 2017, shows a microscopic Nativity scene given to Pope Francis by Lithuania. The gift is a Christmas present invisible to the naked eye: a Nativity scene where baby Jesus is smaller than a human cell. It took three months for Lithuanian scientists and students to create the minuscule crib from a 3D scan of the life-size crèche, reducing it 10,000 times. ( LinkMenu fabrikas via AP)
A Muslim walks to Friday prayers past Malaysian and Palestinian flags on display in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak lead a rally to protest the U.S. move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
The scene of a suicide attack on a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/ Rahmat Gul)
Pope Francis, flanked by Master of Ceremonies Bishop Guido Marini, waves to the faithful during the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for “to the city and to the world” ) Christmas’ Day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A man dressed as Santa Claus sits in a sidecar of a motorbike on Christmas Eve in Jerusalem’s Old City Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Vatican Swiss guards march toward the St. Peter’s Basilica prior to the start of Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi (Latin for “to the city and to the world”) Christmas’ Day blessing at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
