Christmas Tree, Weihnachtsbaum, kurisumasutsurī… Christmas trees have conquered the whole world

A few hours before New Year’s Eve, the magic of Christmas shines across the globe. From Tokyo (where kurisumasutsurī are erected) to Los Angeles, via Monaco, London or the Vatican, the fir tree, majestic king of the forests, stands out as the star of the end-of-year celebrations. It sits proudly in large public squares, in shopping centers and sometimes even in unexpected places like zoos and ports.

It is one of the symbols universally recognized today, regardless of culture, language or religion. Like every year, the Earth is covered with Christmas trees, a tradition – historians are still debating – which has its roots in rites that are not necessarily Christian, whether it is a reminiscence of the Roman Saturnalia or Germanic beliefs.

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In the United Kingdom, the plastic tree reigns supreme

To decorate homes each year, there are tens of thousands of fir farms around the world. Classic spruce with a recognizable scent or nordmann whose main quality is to preserve its needles, Europe alone produced around 50 million trees, the United States, around thirty. Not to mention the artificial trees which mainly come from China and which reign without master across the Atlantic or in the United Kingdom: one in two American households and almost two in three in England opt for plastic trees.

This year again, major cities around the world have shown imagination with trees decorated with film sets or looking like rides. Here are the ones that caught the attention of Figarowhether for their beauty, their originality or their history.