202512 वॉलपेपर संग्रह

Beneath Heidelberg's winter sky in Germany, stalls sparkle with snow globes, each capturing the spirit of the season in a miniature world. Today, Christmas—a Christian celebration of faith, light and togetherness—invites us to welcome warmth and joy into the coldest days of the year. Across continents, candles glow on windowsills and garlands twine through homes and streets. Evergreen trees stand adorned, their branches heavy with ornaments and gifts waiting quietly beneath.

As Christmas Eve arrives, millions embrace customs that connect us to our roots—or introduce us to entirely new cultures. In snowy regions like the Bavarian Alps in Germany—a frost-kissed landscape seen in today's image—festive lights glow against winter's chill. Elsewhere, the sun blazes brightly: think of the Caribbean, Australia, or Brazil, where Christmas often means golden beaches instead of frosty mornings.

Few creatures evoke the magic of the holidays quite like the reindeer. Also known as caribou, they are the spirit animals of Christmas lovers—and they rock it. Sturdy and sure-footed, they've been pulling Santa's sleigh ever since Clement Clarke Moore cast them in the role in his 1823 poem 'A Visit from Saint Nicholas.' And they were born for it. Their hooves shrink in winter to expose a gripping rim, then expand in warmer months for better traction. Still not impressed? Consider this: reindeer don't have an internal clock. Instead, their melatonin—the hormone that regulates sleep—adjusts to light and darkness, helping them stay awake through endless nights of gift delivery.

As Christmas approaches, each sunset gives way to a glow of festive lights, bringing a touch of wonder and preparing us for the holiday season. One of the world's most beloved stage works, 'The Nutcracker,' is rooted in this very sense of magic. The story unfolds on Christmas Eve, in the midst of holiday cheer, when Clara receives a nutcracker as a gift. As night falls and the household drifts into sleep, the little girl and her nutcracker embark on a fantastical journey—battling the Mouse King and wandering through the Land of Sweets. Among its most famous moments is the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy—the ruler of the Land of Sweets—accompanied by music that has become iconic. Tchaikovsky composed these enchanting melodies for the celesta, an instrument often called the bell-piano. Based on the book 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King' by E.T.A.

Ever felt as if the night just wouldn't end? That's the winter solstice working its magic. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring around December 21 or 22. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same happens around June 21 or 22. It marks the moment when one of Earth's poles tilts farthest from the sun. From that instant, daylight slowly begins to lengthen again.

As Christmas draws near, star lanterns begin to appear everywhere—twinkling from balconies, shining in shop windows and lighting up market stalls. Their shimmer cuts through the long winter nights, filling streets and homes with joy, colour and a sense of togetherness. But behind these festive decorations lies a story as captivating as their glow. The first of these stars emerged in Niesky, Germany, in the early 1800s. Students at a Moravian Church boarding school crafted what we now call the Herrnhut Star or Moravian Star, during a geometry lesson. That geometric marvel, crafted from paper and cardboard, soon came to symbolise the Star of Bethlehem and the spirit of Advent. By 1897, Pieter Verbeek, a former student of that school, began producing and selling them. His son Harry later continued the tradition, founding the Herrnhut Star Factory in 1925.

Bormio is a mountain town in northern Italy's Lombardy region, nestled in the Alps near the Stelvio Pass. This location has connected communities across mountain valleys for centuries, shaping how people live and move through the region. Today's image features Bormio's winter landscape, a reflection of its high-altitude surroundings and enduring bond with the surrounding peaks.

Hampi has a way of telling its story without saying much. The valley is filled with massive granite boulders that look untouched by time, and between them rises the gopuram of the Virupaksha Temple, the tall gateway tower that defines its skyline. The rocks are far older than the empire that once ruled here, shaped by natural forces long before a city ever existed. The gopuram, pale and geometric against the rugged terrain, gives the landscape a clear point of focus. Together they form a view that is both stark and striking, the kind that stays with you even after a quick glance.

Who could resist that squishy face? A Eurasian red squirrel perches on a snowy pine branch, paws clutching a pine cone like it's the last snack on Earth. These little acrobats stay busy collecting nuts, seeds and fungi—feasting on fresh finds in summer and on stored cones through winter.

They've got long beards, red hats and a knack for stealing a tad bit of Santa's thunder every Christmas. Meet the gnome—known as 'tomte' in Sweden and 'nisse' in Norway—whose traditions vary across regions. Rooted in Scandinavian folklore, these tiny guardians watch over homes and farms, keeping families safe through long, dark winters. But there's a catch: treat them kindly or they may play tricks. A warm bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve is their favourite reward. Said to bring luck and laughter, they might even befriend your garden gnomes, since they often resemble them.

Have you ever wondered how canals changed the way cities developed? For thousands of years, people have built canals to transport goods, control water flow and connect places. From ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to medieval Europe, they transformed cities like Venice and Bruges into trade hubs. The Netherlands took this even further—by the 17th century, they were designing waterways that shaped cities such as Amsterdam.

Tigers reshape the landscape without being seen. A single presence, and the forest rearranges itself around it. The Royal Bengal tiger moves through India's forests, grasslands and mangrove swamps with a quiet authority that no other predator matches. It hunts with patience, not spectacle, using scent marks, sharpened senses and near-perfect night vision to stalk deer and wild boar. When it strikes, it does so with a finality that explains why no other creature in the wild dares contest its ground.

Every masterpiece needs a brushstroke to tie it together. For Yosemite National Park, that stroke is the Merced River—painting reflections of granite cliffs, pine forests and waterfalls across its canvas. One of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers, this waterway begins high in the Sierra Nevada. It gathers meltwater and travels about 235 kilometres west through Yosemite Valley into California's Central Valley in the United States.

Some plants simply sit quietly on windowsills. The poinsettia? It demands the spotlight — bright, bold and as red as Rudolph's nose. Long before it became a popular Christmas decoration, it grew wild in Mexico, where the Aztecs used its leaves for dyes and its sap for traditional remedies. In the 19th century, it travelled across continents as people admired its vivid colour during colder months, eventually finding its place in winter celebrations around the world.

Every 11 December, we celebrate International Mountain Day, honouring the majestic peaks that shape our planet and the glaciers that support life. From the rolling Alps to the towering Himalayas, mountains cover nearly a quarter of Earth's land and host 15% of the world's population and nearly half of its biodiversity hotspots. Mount Everest, the world's highest peak at over 8845 metres, stands as a symbol of human aspiration and natural beauty. Its glaciers feed rivers sustaining millions, showing that mountains are more than scenery—they are lifelines.

The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is a chronicle of Spain's layered history. It began as a church built by the Germanic Visigoths, before being transformed into a mosque in 784 CE by Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba. Its vast hypostyle hall, a space supported by rows of columns, features the famous red-and-white arches shown here. Today, it contains more than 850 columns, many reused from Roman and earlier Visigothic structures.

If llamas are the laid-back stars of the Andes, their cousins, the guanacos, are the free spirits of Patagonia. Guanacos are part of the same camelid family as llamas, alpacas and vicuñas. But unlike their domesticated relatives, they keep things wild. Found mainly in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, they're built for life at high altitude. Their thick coats help them handle chilly winds, while their padded feet give them the grip to trek across rocky terrain that would make even mountain goats nervous.

When the twinkling reflections on Italy's Lake Como outshine the stars, you know Christmas has docked in Domaso. Once a fishing village, this lakeside town now transforms each winter into a glittering display of holiday cheer, where pastel houses, old churches and waterfront villas are wrapped in ribbons of light. The result? A picturesque Christmas scene.

In December, the forests of Alsace, in France's Grand Est region, wrap themselves in a veil of fog, as if nature were holding its breath before winter. Between Scots pines and silver firs, the moss-covered ground muffles every step, and silence feels almost sacred. These woodlands, which cover nearly 40% of Alsace, shelter a rich biodiversity: roe deer, wild boar, black woodpeckers, and sometimes the elusive lynx, which has returned after decades of absence.

On Florida's southern tip lies one of the United States' most unusual landscapes. The Everglades is not a typical swamp or river. It is a slow, shallow sheet of water that drifts south across flat grasslands toward Florida Bay, linking forests, marshes, mangroves and coastal prairies. This subtropical wilderness supports hundreds of species, including alligators, manatees and the endangered Florida panther. Spanning over 6000 square kilometres, it is one of the largest wetland ecosystems in North America—a place where land, sky and water meet in constant motion.

In a quiet valley of western Honduras lie the ruins of Copán—a city of the ancient Maya civilisation. Its sky served as both compass and calendar, guiding celestial events and shaping temples, rituals and the rhythm of life. Around 426 CE, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', a warrior from the Maya heartland, founded Copán and established its royal dynasty. The city became a centre of Maya art, astronomy and power.

Indian naval ships once moved across the Arabian Sea under cover of night in December 1971 during the Indo-Pak War. Their course led toward Karachi, a crucial port for fuel and supplies. Indian missile boats carried out a carefully planned mission and returned home unharmed, shifting the tide of the conflict and marking a defining moment at sea. It remains one of the most significant chapters in India's maritime story.

Every December, as morning unfolds, a chorus of rattling calls fills the marshes of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. This 231 square kilometres sanctuary in central New Mexico prepares to stage one of nature's most stirring performances as sandhill cranes return from their seasonal journey. Soon, tens of thousands of snow geese and other migratory birds join the scene, filling the sky with movement and sound.

On 2 December 1980, the United States passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), a landmark law that reshaped America's conservation history. With one sweeping law, more than 40 million hectares of Alaska's wild lands gained lasting protection, like the Wrangell–St Elias National Park and Preserve, seen here, now the largest national park in the country. ANILCA balanced preservation with tradition, safeguarding ecosystems while honouring rural subsistence rights.

Some photos capture nature's grand acts. Great photos reveal even more in a single frame: the delicate balance between immense power and fragile beauty that surrounds us on Earth. Today's image of a natural arch carved into an Antarctic iceberg does exactly that—a conversation starter about grandeur, vulnerability, our environment and its present and future.