Christmas Tree

Unusual Facts about a Christmas Tree...

The great Christmas tree that stands in London's Trafalgar Square each year comes from Norway. It is a gift from the people of Oslo, Norway to the City of Westminster. This tradition started in 1947 and is a thank you for help during World War II.

In King's Canyon National Park, California is a massive sequoia known as 'The General Grant Tree'. It is over 4000 years old and stands over 267 feet (90 metres) high. This tree was made the official national Christmas Tree of America in 1925 and every year a Christmas service is held at its base.

Since 1931 America has celebrated Christmas around a tree at the Rockefeller Center, New York. That year was during the Great Depression and workers placed the tree there when they queued up to collect their wages. There have been various different activities around this Christmas tree ever since. In 1933 there were 700 bulbs on the tree and in 1991 the number had grown to 25300 bulbs.

The tallest cut tree according to the Guinness Book of Records was put up at the Northgate Shopping Centre, Seattle, Washington in December 1950. It was a Douglas fir and stood 221 feet (67 meters) tall. The tallest tree ever measured was also a Douglas fir. In 1902 it was measured in Canada and stood 415 feet (126.5 meters) high.