Christmas Trees: The World Lights Up For The Festive Season (PHOTOS)

Decorating a Christmas tree is one of the most celebrated holidays traditions around the world. It is claimed that the tradition of decorating an evergreen tree during Christmas started in Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia) and Germany in the 16th century.

Traditionally, the Christmas tree was brought into the home and decorated with candles on Christmas Eve and kept for 12 nights until Epiphany. Typically, a star or angel was placed at the top of the tree representing the angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity scene.

Like many customs, the Christmas tree has changed with modernity both in how it is decorated and what it signifies. Today, Christmas trees are either natural or artificial, usually decorated with multi-colored Christmas lights, tinsel, ornaments, garlands and candy canes. While many Christmas trees retain an old-world charm, many are distinctly futuresque like the one made of approximately 300 red and white teddy bears in Seoul, or the $2 million Christmas tree made out of pure gold displayed in a Tokyo jewellery store.

Both a Christian and secular symbol in the 21st century, Christmas trees can also be known as holiday trees today and can be seen in many public spaces and non-Christian homes.

While it was the custom to decorate Christmas trees on Christmas Eve; in recent times, Christmas trees are decorated much earlier. In the United States, people start to decorate Christmas trees as early as right after Thanksgiving Day. In other countries around the world, people decorate Christmas trees during the first and second weeks of December.

HuffPost Religion has compiled some of the most spectacularly decorated Christmas trees from around the world.
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Comments

[suzabellawilliam]

04:46 PM on 12/18/2011

thought Barcelona tree is the most beautiful tree; glad to see Christmas is celebrated all over the world in different ways in their decorations; really interesting to see how different cultures interpret how a tree should look; hope all have a very merry christmas

[maxpain]

07:39 PM on 12/09/2011

can you say homegrown terrorist

[Magdalynn]

01:39 PM on 12/08/2011

How can ANYONE say there is a war on Christianity, once these trees are seen? The change that is going on in the Christian Churchs is a simple one...the People are listening to the tenants of Christ and not the propaganda of men.

[Stella Hart]

01:38 PM on 12/08/2011

Can you say "Christmas" on aol??

[mcinnisja]

01:19 PM on 12/08/2011

The one with Angela Merkel was just magical. Gubbio was five years ago.

[lamontstone]

01:16 PM on 12/08/2011

dear saint klaus, im sorry for not having a tree chopped down to sit in my living room for a week or two. when i was a kid that tree was magical and my grand kids find it magical for that reason there should be a tree. but the commercial aspects of the holiday are unholy.

[shellytayl]

12:46 PM on 12/08/2011

I think Christmas trees are beautiful when they are decorated and lit up but I think they are more beautiful in their natural state, uncut, living and growing bigger and more beautiful every year. I will never understand why Rockerfeller Center or anywhere for that matter would seek out a 74 ft tree and have it cut down to put on display for a few weeks. How long did it take that tree to grow 75 feet tall? That piece of nature will never come back. So many other ways to produce a Christmas tree. It doesn't have to be a once live tree. Just call me Scrooge, I guess. Anyway, to all that love the tradition -- Merry Christmas.

[mcinnisja]

01:25 PM on 12/08/2011

It does seem to be a terrific waste; it used to be that the Rockefeller tree was donated each year by someone who had to cut the tree down for other reasons (to build a road, clearing land for yet more houses, etc.) but I'm not sure if that's still the case. If you consider the number of people who are enjoying a public Christmas tree, particularly in the heart of New York City, versus those who cut them for a select few who get to see them in their living rooms, it does spread cheer a bit more efficiently.

[aintnoliberalnow]

07:37 PM on 12/09/2011

Christmas trees are a really bigfamily based financial operation in North America. They are not naturally growing forest stock. Just for example,If you consider it takes about 5 to 10 years for the trees to become commercially viable, and we sell 30 million a year, it means that at any given time there has to be an additional 150 to 300 million trees growing on what would probably be scrub or poor pasture with grass and trash trees on them. These trees are purpose planted and the operations are predominantly on family farms. No, I have nothing to do with tree farming and because of time and travel committments over Xmas, I have an artificial tree. I just recognize that it is the use of renewable resources and contributes to the environment by providing green areas and small animal and bird habitat. Plus, those artificial trees use plastic and aluminum that come from smelters and refineries.

[shellytayl]

08:29 PM on 12/09/2011

Thanks for enlightening me. I think I feel a tiny bit better about it. lol

[Rosemary Hirsch]

12:33 PM on 12/08/2011

I am from the Chicagoland area, and I do not think Chicago's Christmas is so bad. No, it doesn't compare to some trees in international cities but, remember, we are suffering from a recession. The money from a more elaborately decorated treee could go to a food bank or helping some families with great financial needs in order that they can enjoy a Merry Christmas. A Christmas tree is wonderful, but food on the table is more substantial.

[Jahnabi Barooah]

05:45 PM on 12/08/2011

thank you!

[Rosemary Hirsch]

12:23 PM on 12/08/2011

Although I am of the Jewish faith and we don't have Christmas trees (some folks enjoy "Chanukah bushes"), I must admit I admire beautifully decorated holiday trees. The festively decorated trees add so much joy and warmth to the holiday season no matter what faith you belong to.

[mcinnisja]

01:26 PM on 12/08/2011

Shalom!

[SoulOfDespair]

11:43 AM on 12/08/2011

Wow, the one in Italy looks cool. I think we can do that in Hollywood :D!

[Jahnabi Barooah]

05:45 PM on 12/08/2011

Yeah, glad you liked it!

[Mary Scirdinsky]

11:43 AM on 12/08/2011

I liked the one from Seoul, Korea with the bears around it. Could have been less bears and a bigger tree tho. I wonder if the White House tree had a picture of Chairman Mao on it again. Don't know why noone has ever asked them about that. Love to hear the answer.

[Jahnabi Barooah]

05:46 PM on 12/08/2011

Thank you! Yeah, the one is Seoul was really innovative.

[david3830]

11:03 AM on 12/08/2011

Glad they did not show the Chicago tree, it is crap, a disgrace to the city.Also MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and if that offends any one, I aint sorry one bit.

[Mary Scirdinsky]

11:40 AM on 12/08/2011

I don't know what Chicago's tree looks like, but I am with you all the way on the rest of your message. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[Catherine Delamater]

10:17 AM on 12/08/2011

How cool is this?

[brokenleoheart]

10:17 AM on 12/08/2011

not gona lie but that tree from germany looks a little under-decorated..

[floodberg]

10:51 AM on 12/08/2011

I agree, but Merkel in front of it made my stomach churn.  That's wrong on so many levels, not the least is that small children will see it.

[LudeDude714]

09:56 AM on 12/08/2011

Most of us here in the US are of Germanic heritage, I think the last count was 57% of the US was part German. Germanic tribes that spread across Europe and beyond like the Anglo and the Saxons centuries ago. On the language tree English comes from German which is why so many words are the same or similar, the holiday songs like O Tannenbaum and Stille Nacht, Rudolph and all the other reindeer names, Kris Kringle, not to mention the advances in science, medicine, arts, music, literature, chemistry, psychology, physics, German science got man into space and to the moon, Martin Luther and freedom of religion for the people, the printing press, Karl Benz and the auto, one of the best stories I heard about Benz was he was having a problem with the fuel mixture until he seen his wife putting on her perfume from one of those bubble pumps, he noticed how it would mist and that is how he overcame the problem of too much fuel. My point is sometimes it is good to reflect and remember a nation of people and not let 13 short years of maniacal leader wipe out centuries of good that has given so much to humanity. Weltanschauung ohne Hass!

[bump00000]

11:50 AM on 12/08/2011

Like Hell's Angels say, when you're good, people forget but when you're bad they remember.

Shame how when you say German, the first thing that comes to your mind is Hitler.

[mcinnisja]

01:29 PM on 12/08/2011

Maybe Hitler comes to your mind, not mine. Time to make some positive associations.

[lamontstone]

01:18 PM on 12/08/2011

mele kalikimaka a haoli makahiki hou.