Photos of moments of joy brought to life by AP photojournalists in 2025

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Girls react as they ride the Tempest at the Rand Easter funfair in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, 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)

Revelers share a kiss during the traditional Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, 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)

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)

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)

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)

People play dominoes on the street during a blackout in Havana, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, 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)

Children run through a water fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 boy throws ice into the sea in Nuuk, Greenland, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, 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 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)

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)