Europe’s highest and most active volcano erupted in Italy just before Christmas, creating troubles for many locals and tourists in nearby areas.

Amid the busy holiday season, Mount Etna’s eruption led to the closure of Catania airport on Sicily’s eastern coast because of the heavy ash that was sent into the sky.

While the airport resumed full activity on Christmas, ash coated the streets and sidewalks of the nearby towns Zafferana Etnea and Santa Venerina.

The volcano didn’t lead to any evacuations for locals but did disrupt their businesses, which are largely agriculture or tourism related.

At least 300 tremors rattled the slopes of the volcanic mountain during a three-hour span early Monday, including a magnitude 4.3 seismic shake, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology reported.

The tremors continued into Tuesday but weren’t as powerful as the earlier ones.

The volcano led to startling scenes, especially as bright lava lit up the night sky on Monday.

These were the scenes during the day on Monday.

Mount Etna has been particularly active since July, with experts in Italy saying the volcano has been growing faster recently.

In late August, the volcano had one of its larger eruptions and created similar displays at nighttime.

The 3,330-metre-high volcano can burst several times a year, spewing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. The last major eruption was in 1992.

—With files from Reuters and the Associated Press

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