Dozens of children with disability gathered on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach on Tuesday to receive presents — and joy — from the white-bearded man, a joint effort by the city’s firefighters and nonprofit associations.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will undergo a new procedure on Thursday following up on an unplanned surgery earlier this week for a brain bleed.

People were in downtown Blacksburg since 3:00 p.m. for the annual Winter Festival.

Since 1943, the people of Appalachian Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee have looked forward to Santa’s arrival.

A Rockbridge County man has played the role of Santa in the Goshen community for over a decade, but with an ongoing battle against cancer, he has decided to hang up his coat.

Santa Claus paid an early visit to the Star City to spend some time at William Fleming High School.

It’s officially the holiday season and that means all things holly and jolly, and that of course means getting a pic with Old St. Nick.

Beloved cartoon characters like Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants are taking to the skies above New York City in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

As the temperature drops (in many places), the holiday TV calendar is heating up with a variety of festive options.

The Rhode Island Department of Health says it was not able to definitively confirm or refute the presence of Santa in a young girl’s home after she requested to have a partially eaten cookie and a couple of gnawed-on carrot sticks tested for DNA to see if Santa Claus is real.

A young Rhode Island girl has finally figured out how to determine if Santa Claus is real — DNA.

Chocolate Santa, also known as Guy Smith, visited WSLS to bring holiday cheer.

Santa Claus is already delivering presents.

Santa Claus, is that you already? Christmas is almost here, and you might just be lucky enough to hear those bells jingling and jangling and as the jolly crew comes to deliver presents in the night.

A bunch of Santa lookalikes have taken to the ski slopes once again to spread some holiday cheer.

Santa and Mrs. Claus left Rudolph at home to catch a ride recently on an Alaska Air National Guard cargo plane to visit the Inupiac village of Nuiqsut, about 30 miles south of the Arctic Ocean.

From Dec. 1 to Dec. 3, families can come out and enjoy hot cocoa, cookies, and photos with the jolly guy himself.

Santa Claus is comin’ to town sooner than you might think.

Overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States claimed a slalom event for a sweep of the two season-opening races.

The holiday season is just around the corner, and one Pigeon Forge spot is gearing up for the festivities.

Spain will end a mandate to wear masks outdoors next week, reversing a late December order against an unprecedented surge of coronavirus infections fueled by a highly contagious mutation.

Marines on snowmobiles helped Santa this month while delivering toys to boys and girls in Alaska’s Arctic.

Gather the kids and let the Christmas excitement begin!

South Africa's government says the country will donate just over 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries to boost the continent’s vaccine drive.

It all began with an elf named Fisbee.

A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily has apologized to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.

We’re used to seeing Santa at the mall, or better yet, on his sleigh delivering toys to children around the world, but you don’t see Santa (let alone hundreds of him) skiing or snowboarding down a mountain.

Britain’s government has tightened travel restrictions amid concerns about the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant.

Holiday celebrations are happening all over the region.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to its pre-pandemic form this year, with its route restored through Manhattan, high-flying helium balloons once again pulled by handlers and crowds welcomed back to cheer them on.

Visitors to a mall with a monster themed festival wears masks to protect from the coronavirus in Beijing Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. Beijing is conducting testing on a limited scale in the neighborhoods and workplaces where the cases were found. Japan had 3,823 new cases Friday for a national total of 213,547, with 3,155 deaths, the health ministry said. — South Korea has reported another 1,132 coronavirus cases as the resurgence worsened over the Christmas week, putting pressure on the government to enforce stricter social distancing controls. On Saturday morning, 110 new coronavirus cases were reported, bringing Thailand’s total to 6,020.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Liberty University history professor is giving a lesson, not on topics like war or democracy, but on Santa Claus. Dr. Carey Roberts is appearing in a new documentary titled “The True Saint Nicholas.”It’s about how the man with the long white beard and the red suit has changed with America’s cultural shifts. Roberts said the jolly old man we know him as today was created in the 1920s and 30s when Coca-Cola hired a Swedish artist for a national campaign. “He drew on this New York image of Santa Claus and really produced the modern Santa Claus we have today, so it’s a Southern beverage company, it’s a Swedish immigrant and it’s a New York tradition,” said Roberts. He said before that time, most Americas would’ve been visited by “Father Christmas” or “Saint Nicholas.”

The National Weather Service earlier this week warned that South Florida could experience the coldest Christmas Day in 21 years. Morning lows on Saturday could drop into the low 30s and 40s degrees Fahrenheit, the weather service said. Much colder temps expected for Christmas," the National Weather Service in Miami tweeted earlier this week. A squall line with severe storms and fast-moving winds also was headed for north Florida on Christmas Eve. The pandemic also was impacting a Space Coast tradition — Surfing Santa Day, which takes place the day before Christmas.

Thursday marks Christmas Eve and you know what that means... Santa Claus is coming to town! CLICK HERE TO TRACK SANTA’S JOURNEYEvery Christmas Eve, there are men and women in the military who have the best job of all. They get to follow along as Jolly Saint Nick treks around the world to deliver presents to everyone on the nice list. The North American Aerospace Defense Command created the Santa Tracker, which allows you to see where Santa is in the world and just how close he is to delivering your presents. You can follow along with NORAD’s interactive map or on Twitter where officials are updating where Santa is.

In this photo provided by the California Highway Patrol, a man dressed as Santa Claus who was flying on a powered parachute on his way to deliver candy canes to children is seen stuck on power lines in Rio Linda, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. The incident happened shortly after the man took off near a school in Rio Linda and then hit and became suspended in power lines, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told KCRA-TV. (California Highway Patrol via AP)RIO LINDA, Calif. – Santa found himself a little more tied up than usual this time of year. A Northern California man impersonating Santa Claus and flying on a powered parachute was rescued Sunday after he became entangled in power lines, authorities said. He flew into a maze of power lines and wound up suspended in them, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told KCRA-TV.

CHRISTIANSBURG, VA. – While the CDC said Santa Claus is immune from COVID-19, he’s still doing what he can to keep others safe. That means this year he’s getting a special tour of the Christiansburg area thanks to the local fire department. If you see the Christiansburg Fire Department with its lights on and sirens blaring down the road, make sure to do a double-take. The department is giving Santa a special escort this year on top of a fire truck. Seeing Santa roll down their street was the highlight for many kids bundled up braving the flurries Monday night.

A spat has erupted over competing claims that the prime minister and his main rival broke the spirit of pandemic restrictions that have renewed financial hardship for many voters. Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was photographed last weekend posing with his mountain bike, without a mask, alongside five motocross riders on a hillside trail outside Athens. Greece's lockdown rules exempt people who've gone outdoors for exercise, including cycling, from the obligation to wear a mask. Greece’s pandemic death toll reached close to 3,100 on Monday, with most deaths occurring after Nov. 1. The current lockdown was launched on Nov. 7 and initially planned to last for three weeks.

(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)SEATTLE — Health officials in Washington state said the number of people who were hospitalized to receive treatment for the coronavirus has reached a record high. The director of the state health department urged residents to cancel indoor Thanksgiving plans and those that involve large groups of family and friends. Authorities are strictly enforcing a lockdown and nightly curfew after a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Health authorities announced 1,498 new coronavirus cases Sunday, along with 103 deaths, five less than the daily record set Saturday. Italy added 28,337 confirmed cases, raising to 1,408,868, the country’s total in the pandemic.

Santa Claus is coming to town and the only thing he’s spreading is lots of Christmas cheer. According to the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Man in Red is COVID-19 free. Fauci wants to assure those kids that Santa isn’t going to be spreading the infection to anyone. So, get the milk and cookies ready, kids! COVID-19 isn’t stopping Santa from visiting your home this Christmas.

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2019, file photo a playbook sits next to a telephone set up in the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. The North American Aerospace Defense Command has announced that NORAD will track Santa on December 24, just as it has done for 65 years. The global pandemic won't stop them from tracking Santa Claus' progress as he delivers gifts around the globe on Christmas Eve. The North American Aerospace Defense Command has announced that NORAD will track Santa on Dec. 24, just as it has done for 65 years. Besides the call center, the NORAD Tracks Santa website — noradsanta.org — as well as social media pages, Amazon Alexa, Onstar and a new mobile app will still be available with up-to-the-minute details on Santa's location.

A buyer shouted out with glee that they would pay $368,000 for the Rudolph and Santa Claus figures used in the perennially beloved Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”Bidding for the figures soared past the projected sale price of between $150,000 and $200,000 on Friday at the Icons & Legends of Hollywood Auction held in Los Angeles by Profiles in History. The 6-inch-tall Rudolph and 11-inch-tall Santa were made in Tokyo of wood, wire, cloth and leather, and are still malleable. Other highlights from the two-day auction include Marilyn Monroe's tiger-striped gown from “The Seven Year Itch,” which sold for a whopping $593,750. Another Monroe gown that she wore when she met Queen Elizabeth II at a London film premiere went for $294,400. A Scarlett O’Hara dress that Vivien Leigh wore in “Gone With the Wind” and Gene Kelly’s rain suit from “Singin' in the Rain” sold for $150,000 apiece.

Santa Claus is coming to the mall just don't try to sit on his lap. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK – Santa Claus is coming to the mall — just don’t try to sit on his lap. Kids will instead tell Santa what they want for Christmas from six feet away, and sometimes from behind a sheet of plexiglass. Santa and his visitors may need to wear a face mask, even while posing for photos. And Brookfield teamed up with virtual Santa company JingleRing, giving people a way to chat with Santa from home.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – With Halloween behind us, many people are looking ahead to the holidays. If you’re feeling festive, Busch Gardens has introduced a brand new Christmas event — they’re calling it "Christmas Celebration”. The festivities will include sparkling lights, decorations, festive food and live seasonal music. Santa Claus will be there to greet kids from a distance and there will also be a gingerbread scavenger hunt throughout the park. The event starts Nov. 13 and runs through Jan. 3.

FILE - Santa Claus waves during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 28, 2019, in New York. Macy's said Santa Claus won't be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. However, Macy's said the jolly old man will still appear at the end of the televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. But he will still appear at the end of the televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, the company said. Macy's has been using Santa Claus to draw crowds to its New York store since the early 1860s, calling itself “The Home of Santa Claus" for decades.

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Santa Claus is not coming to town like he normally would this year. The Santa Train announced on Facebook today that it will reimagine the 78th annual holiday event to “provide a safe alternative” during the coronavirus pandemic. Usually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, The Santa Train travels a 110-mile route through the mountains of Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee to deliver gifts to those in passing towns. Instead of the traditional celebration, the train will be delivering gifts on Saturday, November 21, at select Food City locations along the route. More details about where gifts can be picked up will be announced on The Santa Train’s social media accounts in the coming months.

ROANOKE, Va. – Chritsmas may be over, but Santa Claus still had one last stop to make in Roanoke. The Roanoke Police Department accompanied Santa as he visited families at the Carilion Children’s Hospital. That included 7-year-old Declan Nichols and his family. “What we thought was a stomach bug turned out to be a ruptured appendix,” said Christopher Nichols, Declan’s father. “It’s been wonderful, it’s been great," Christopher Nichols said.

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – What makes 500,000 lights shine even brighter? A visit from Santa Claus, of course! Santa Claus visited the popular Roanoke County holiday lights attraction at Explore Park on Monday night. Santa is available for stories and photos at Illuminights on the following dates: Dec. 16-19 and 23. For more ticket prices, other dates and information, click here.