Christmas Trees Glitter Across Europe

Celebrating Christmas goes beyond countries with Christian roots. From Dubai to New Delhi, Christmas trees are erected in most of the world's major cultural cities. Of course, in most places the emphasis is less on the religious and more on the ceremonial aspect of the holiday.

A christmas tree is lit on the Spanish steps, on December 15, 2023 in Rome. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP) Fotó: Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Photo: AFP

Istanbul

Perhaps some explanation is needed about the Turks' attitude to Christmas. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, introduced several measures during his reign aimed at restricting Islam. In addition to provisions such as the ban on headscarves, which is a sensitive issue to date, he also pursued other religious and cultural aspirations. As a result, Christmas as a holiday has been adopted in Turkey, with the only difference that it is celebrated on December 31. Despite this, a Christmas tree in front of the Church of St. Anthony of Padua in Beyoglu, a district in the heart of Istanbul, stands on display all month long.

Photo:  Berk Ozkan /Anadolu /AFP

Lisbon

Portuguese families gather for dinner on the evening of December 24. The festive table is laden with local delicacies such as boiled cod or octopus with potatoes and Portuguese cabbage. For almost twenty years now, Comercio Square has featured the Portuguese capital's most popular Christmas tree.

Photo: Zed Jameson/Anadolu/AFP

Bordeaux

Politics has infected cities other than Brussels. Since World War II, the city of Bordeaux always had right-wing mayors.  Since 2013, the number of immigrants in the city has risen sharply (twenty percent more migrants live here since 2006), and they are allowed to vote in municipal elections without holding a citizenship. All surveys show that the vast majority of them vote for left-wing parties. Bordeaux Mayor Pierre Hurmic, a member of the French Greens ((Europe Ecologie – Les Verts, EELV), took to social media to campaign against the tradition of erecting Christmas trees, saying that they are "cut-down trees" and declaring them to be "dead". He even initiated a "tree rights charter".  The mayor argued that the idea does not at all fit into "our concept of revegetation". He called those protesting his decision "fascist and primitive Catholics, looking back into the past".

Budapest

The country's Christmas tree is erected outside Parlament. When Kossuth Square was renovated, the designers took the annual installation of a fir tree into account and a sunk-in fixture was put in place on the south-western side. This and the strap connections can hold a huge tree securely even in strong winds. This year, the tree was brought to the square from the garden of a family in Hajduszoboszlo, eastern Hungary, with the help of disaster management experts, the defense forces and the police.

Photo: Zsolt Szigetvary/MTI

Cover photo: Illuminated Christmas tree on the Spanish Steps in Rome (Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP)