The joy of being there, of prayer and play, a dance in a bomb shelter, a kiss in a flood and a hug in the mud, kids rolling tires and scooting among the ruins of Gaza are among the defining images of 2025 as people found happiness despite adversity and enjoyed the simple things of life.
Images of joy, of rainbows appearing after rain in Utah, of a newly married couple kissing in a flooded church after a deadly typhoon in the Philippines, a couple hugging in the mud at a Brazilin festival, another kissing in a puddle of tomatoes during a festival in Spain. A couple dancing with joy in their wedding clothes in Istanbul, Turkey, and another practicing their ballroom dancing in a Hanoi, Vietnam Square.
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Graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy toss their caps during the academy's graduation and commissioning ceremony, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
A Vietnamese couple practices Ballroom dancing as part of their morning exercise along Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
A child catches snowflakes with their tongue during El Museo del Barrio's 47th annual Three Kings Day parade, Jan. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
A boy throws ice into the sea in Nuuk, Greenland, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Revelers enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
A couple kisses over a puddle of tomatoes during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz, File)
Members of a traditional group from Serbia rest in the shade before a parade by international ensembles and those of ethnic groups from Romania showcasing traditional outfits, dances, and songs, in Bucharest, Romania, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Aymara Indigenous people hold up their hands to receive the first rays of sunlight in celebration of the Andean New Year 5533, marking the Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice, in El Alto, Bolivia, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
Thai Buddhist monks pray as they gather at Wat Dhammakaya temple to participate in Makha Bucha Day ceremonies in Pathum Thani, Thailand, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Villagers from Barsana and Nandgaon smeared with colors sing and dance as they participate in Lathmar Holi at Nandagram temple in Nandgaon village, 115 kilometers (70 miles) south of New Delhi, India, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo, File)
A couple wearing wedding attire dance during a photo session at the Galata Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Children run through a water fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
A boy dives headfirst into a drainage ditch a day after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
People play dominoes on the street during a blackout in Havana, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
Children play at a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City's Jabalya refugee camp, Feb. 6, 2025, after collecting donated food. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)
Muslim women react during a sack race as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr at a park in Quezon City, Philippines, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Young men don a powdery paste called din sor pong, believed to bring blessings and protection, as they take part in the Songkran water festival marking the Thai New Year in Prachinburi province, central Thailand, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File)
A model is reflected in the mirror applying makeup during the Mr. and Mrs. Kibera leadership contest, on International Youth Day, in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
Revelers share a kiss during the traditional Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
People gather at an overlook as a double rainbow appears over Dead Horse Point State Park, near Moab, Utah, after sunrise, following a thunderstorm, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Girls react as they ride the Tempest at the Rand Easter funfair in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
Revelers cool off with water thrown from balconies at the start of nine days of uninterrupted partying during the famed running of the bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)
Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo, right, and Jamaica kiss during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
A nun kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV during his weekly general audience, at The Vatican, Aug.20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Revelers in costumes enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
Kids play surrounded by rubble on an area of houses that were completely destroyed during the civil war at the Al-Asali neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
People dance during a headphones party inside an underground parking lot used as a shelter against potential missile strikes from Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)
Henry Rice, a 98 year-old Normandy veteran, gets a kiss from Katie Ashby, founder and lead vocalist of D-Day Darlings, as SSAFA, the nation's oldest armed forces charity, kicks off the 80-day countdown to VE Day 80 at The Royal Albert Hall in London, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Schoolgirls and cadets dance as they attend a rehearsal of a ceremony on the first day at school at a cadet lyceum in Kyiv, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
A woman recites prayers as people mark Prophet Muhammad's birthday, known as Mawlid, in Dakar, Senegal, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu, File)
Whether marking religious holidays in Senegal, VE Day in London, the election of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, water festivals and Buddhist ceremonies in Thailand, Eid al-Fitr in the Philippines, children cooling themselves off in drainage ditches in Venezuela or being soaked with water during the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, people found joy in the profound and mundane in 2025.
Photo editing by Courtney Dittmar and Anne-Marie Belgrave
Graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy toss their caps during the academy's graduation and commissioning ceremony, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
A Vietnamese couple practices Ballroom dancing as part of their morning exercise along Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
A child catches snowflakes with their tongue during El Museo del Barrio's 47th annual Three Kings Day parade, Jan. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
A boy throws ice into the sea in Nuuk, Greenland, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Revelers enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
A couple kisses over a puddle of tomatoes during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz, File)
Members of a traditional group from Serbia rest in the shade before a parade by international ensembles and those of ethnic groups from Romania showcasing traditional outfits, dances, and songs, in Bucharest, Romania, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Aymara Indigenous people hold up their hands to receive the first rays of sunlight in celebration of the Andean New Year 5533, marking the Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice, in El Alto, Bolivia, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
Thai Buddhist monks pray as they gather at Wat Dhammakaya temple to participate in Makha Bucha Day ceremonies in Pathum Thani, Thailand, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Villagers from Barsana and Nandgaon smeared with colors sing and dance as they participate in Lathmar Holi at Nandagram temple in Nandgaon village, 115 kilometers (70 miles) south of New Delhi, India, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo, File)
A couple wearing wedding attire dance during a photo session at the Galata Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Children run through a water fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
A boy dives headfirst into a drainage ditch a day after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
People play dominoes on the street during a blackout in Havana, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
Children play at a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City's Jabalya refugee camp, Feb. 6, 2025, after collecting donated food. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)
Muslim women react during a sack race as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr at a park in Quezon City, Philippines, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Young men don a powdery paste called din sor pong, believed to bring blessings and protection, as they take part in the Songkran water festival marking the Thai New Year in Prachinburi province, central Thailand, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File)
A model is reflected in the mirror applying makeup during the Mr. and Mrs. Kibera leadership contest, on International Youth Day, in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
Revelers share a kiss during the traditional Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
People gather at an overlook as a double rainbow appears over Dead Horse Point State Park, near Moab, Utah, after sunrise, following a thunderstorm, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Girls react as they ride the Tempest at the Rand Easter funfair in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
Revelers cool off with water thrown from balconies at the start of nine days of uninterrupted partying during the famed running of the bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)
Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo, right, and Jamaica kiss during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
A nun kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV during his weekly general audience, at The Vatican, Aug.20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Revelers in costumes enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
Kids play surrounded by rubble on an area of houses that were completely destroyed during the civil war at the Al-Asali neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
People dance during a headphones party inside an underground parking lot used as a shelter against potential missile strikes from Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)
Henry Rice, a 98 year-old Normandy veteran, gets a kiss from Katie Ashby, founder and lead vocalist of D-Day Darlings, as SSAFA, the nation's oldest armed forces charity, kicks off the 80-day countdown to VE Day 80 at The Royal Albert Hall in London, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Schoolgirls and cadets dance as they attend a rehearsal of a ceremony on the first day at school at a cadet lyceum in Kyiv, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
A woman recites prayers as people mark Prophet Muhammad's birthday, known as Mawlid, in Dakar, Senegal, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu, File)
