What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
In 1921, this photograph was taken of the author H.G. Wells alongside Charlie Chaplin at the offices of Stoll Pictures, a film production company in London.
Mick Jagger feels a bit excluded as French actor Alain Delon enters the scene.
Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele, dance on the rooftop of London's Savoy Hotel.
A picture captures Osama bin Laden during a vacation in Sweden in 1970 with his family.
American baseball player George Herman Ruth, better known as Babe Ruth, shows his bat to a young child at Yankee Stadium.
Alfred Hitchcock plays in the snow with his grandchildren, in 1960.
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Jack Dempsey, the world heavyweight champion, was knocked out of the ring by Argentinean heavyweight Luis Ángel Firpo during a match in Polo Grounds, New York, on September 14, 1923.
At the August 1924, 'Whirl of the World' fairground attraction in Wembley, London.
Baltimore's 'Younger Set' exhibit the popular trend of painting their best friends' faces on their knees, circa 1925.
Women are photographed at Chiswick Baths, London, in May 1920.
In September 1922, sisters Elizabeth, Helen, and Margaret Hay took photos of the film stars Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks Senior.
Ben Callicott, a British featherweight boxer, prepares for his upcoming fight against Ernie Rice on April 11, 1921.
Canadian dancer Christina Dukette dressed in an Egyptian costume, March 1923.
This photo, captured from a New York skyscraper, shows just how important headwear was to the fashion trends of 1939. There's barely a hatless head in the crowd!
Students at the University of Princeton after a snowball fight in 1893.
IBM delivering a five-megabyte computer in 1956.
People cross an improvised bridge made out of chairs during a flood in Paris in 1924.
Ernest Hemingway, the brilliant writer, in prison after hosting one of his infamous parties.
Women demonstrate against the requirement to wear a hijab following the Islamic Revolution.
The last photo of the Titanic at sea, 1912.
Survivors identified from the 1912 Titanic disaster on April 15th.
Audrey Hepburn shops with a deer as her new pet, in 1958.
Dior models create a stir in Soviet Russia, 1956.
During World War II, an admirer lights British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's cigar.
In 1950, customers of a French café are introduced to Coca-Cola for the first time.
The tomb of Tutankhamen, 1922. It had been sealed and untouched for 3,245 years.
Two men having a cigarette break on top of the RCA Building during its construction, in 1932.
Construction workers playing around on the 59th floor of the Pan American Building in New York, on June 16, 1962.
Elvis Presley and his bride Priscilla Beaulieu cutting a six-tier wedding cake at the Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas on May 1, 1967.
Two men journeying to Los Angeles, California, during the 1930s depression in America.
A young Barack Obama practices his baseball skills.
On May 14, 1963, East German border guards approached a bus containing approximately 12 East Germans that attempted to breach the Sandkrug Bridge between the Soviet and British sectors in Berlin.
On July 11, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person to journey into space, is pictured driving in a convertible with a customized license plate 'YG 1' in London.
Famous for his tough guy characters, Edward G. Robinson converses with a police officer near the Eiffel Tower before his performance in the show 'Grand Night of Paris,' benefiting the International Children's Fund, around 1950.
A photo of the M1 Motorway near Luton, UK, connecting London and Birmingham, taken on November 11, 1959. It's now one of the busiest roads in the country.
A child worker in a cotton mill in South Carolina was photographed by Lewis Hine in 1908.
On January 1, 1955, the famous actor Clark Gable can be seen happily seated in his Thunderbird sports car.
View of the radioactive plume from the bomb dropped on Nagasaki City, as seen from 9.6 km (6 mi) away, in Koyagi-jima, Japan, August 9, 1945.
Machu Picchu, the renowned Inca ruins in Peru, showcased as they appeared around 1930. They remain a popular global tourist destination.
Buster Keaton, a renowned silent film comedian, is pictured with a wooden doll of himself, a thoughtful present from a skilled German woodcarver.
In 1967, The Beatles are seen at the EMI studios in Abbey Road. They are getting ready for the global live TV show called 'Our World', which will be broadcasted in 24 countries and has a potential audience of 400 million.
In 1969, a ticker tape parade was held on 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York, to welcome US astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins back from their journey to the moon.
This image depicts a thylacine, also known as a 'Tasmanian wolf' or 'Tasmanian tiger,' in captivity around 1930. Unfortunately, the thylacine is believed to be extinct because the last known wild one was shot in 1930, and the last captive one died in 1936.
Chief Superintendent William Gilbert, along with Detective Chief Inspector William Little and Commander John Lawler, raise the World Cup in March 1966. The cup had been stolen from the National Stamp Exhibition and was recovered by Pickles, a dog out for a walk with his owner in Norwood, south London.
A photograph of Walt Disney as a baby sitting in an ornate chair, taken around 1902.
The aftermath of the devastating April 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco.
An 1865 photo of famous conjoined twins, Chang and Eng Bunker.
This is the last page of Commander Robert Falcon Scott's diary. It was found at the South Pole in 1912, eight months after the entire expedition team perished on their journey back.
A group of prospectors journeying to the wintry expanses of Canada's Klondike region during the great Gold Rush, around 1895.
The makeshift suit of armor worn by Australian folk hero and bushranger Ned Kelly during his years as an outlaw from the British authorities.
The mouth of Dubai Creek, 1978.
A staff member from Christie's is seen posing with 'Salvator Mundi,' a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The artwork was sold for an unprecedented sum of US$450 million in November 2017.
Air Force One soaring above Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, USA.
An image on the left shows a color digital representation of a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. On the right, the same fragment is viewed using a high-resolution single-wavelength infrared imager.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover was actively exploring the "Red Planet" on January 23, 2018.
Photographs of fascinating historical moments you've probably never seen
Rare photos capturing unusual, classic, and iconic moments in history
LIFESTYLE Curisosities
These rare and extraordinary photographs have immortalized specific moments from the past, allowing future generations to appreciate them. They tell us so much about what life was like during these different times in human history.
Explore the gallery to see a compilation of unique snapshots from times gone by.