Tuesday 2 December 2008

2 December - The Trafalgar Square Tree

Yesterday afternoon I was in central London, meeting a reporter who was going to interview me about What is Myrrh Anyway? We had arranged to meet just off Trafalgar Square and as I was making my way to our rendezvous, I came upon the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree being erected.

This particular tree is given to the city of Westminster each year by the people of Oslo in Norway, in gratitude for the help Norway received from Britain during the Second World War when it was occupied by enemy forces. King Haakon of Norway escaped to England and sent up the Free Norwegian Government. Every year, since 1947, the Norwegian tree has been put on display in Trafalgar Square.

Did you know...?
At approximately 70 feet tall, it is the only un-milled tree over twelve feet that is allowed to be imported into the country.

Of course, if you're a purist you shouldn't put your tree up until Christmas Eve, but I suspect that firs (and fake firs) will be popping up in rooms across the nation over the next few weeks, if they're not up already!

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