Tokyo - Santa was dishing out presents to fish in Japan on Thursday, as a scuba-diving St Nick went swimming in a Tokyo aquarium.
Stingrays, sharks and dozens of varieties of smaller fish crowded round to eat their fill as Father Christmas came early to the Sunshine Aquarium in the city's north-west.
The stunt is part of annual celebrations for visitors who can watch Santa - really a member of the aquarium staff - feeding the fish three times a day until December 25.
Despite little in the way of Christian heritage, Japan has enthusiastically embraced Christmas in recent decades, decking out city centres with trees and encouraging the custom of present-giving.
Many festive traditions get their own Japanese twist, however, with Western visitors often surprised to find that Kentucky Fried Chicken, not turkey, is the meal of choice for many on Christmas Day. - AFP