European Cities Celebrate Christmas with PEFC-Certified Trees

20 December 2012 News

What do Berlin, Strasbourg, Prague, London and other cities have in common? This year, they have all decorated their city centres with PEFC-certified Christmas trees.

Many European cities have a long tradition of putting up Christmas trees to mark the festive season. This year is no different. As snow blankets much of Europe, promising the proverbial ‘white Christmas’, cities both east and west are erecting their trees. The number of trees that are coming from PEFC-certified, sustainable managed forests is growming every year.

Cities including the German capital Berlin; Strasbourg in northern France, Prague in the Czech Republic, and of course London in the UK, have all opted for PEFC-certified trees. Strasbourg’s tree, which is the highest in Europe this year, comes from the PEFC-certified Colroy-Lubine forest in the Climont Massif in France, while London’s tree comes from the community-owned PEFC-certified forest from the Ostmarka area just outside Oslo.

The Christmas tree tradition in Europe is important; it marks the start of the season of good will. It also has a unifying effect, drawing communities together in celebration. This year, perhaps more than any other, as the fingers of financial austerity continue their stranglehold on much of Europe and news on other fronts remains less than joyous, the humble Christmas tree has a particularly significant role to play in jollying up the festive season.

London’s tree, which decorates the city’s iconic Trafalgar Square, is especially significant. Traditionally a Norwegian Spruce (Picea abies), it has been given each year since 1947 to the people of London from the people of Norway as a mark of gratitude for their support during the Second World War. 

Selected several months or even years in advance, it is felled in November in a ceremony attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the British Ambassador to Norway and the Mayor of Oslo. It is then shipped to the UK by sea, where it is decorated and lit using energy-efficient light bulbs. It then remains in Trafalgar Square, a powerful reminder of European unity, until Twelfth Night when it is taken down and recycled. The tree is chipped and composted to make mulch.

The choice of Christmas tree to decorate public places sends out a powerful message about the importance of sustainably managed forests to society, the environment and the economy. This year, PEFC is delighted that so many European cities have chosen trees from PEFC-certified sources, joing other cities such as Brussels and the Vatican that celebrated Christmas with PEFC-certified trees in the past years.

PEFC-certified Christmas trees also decorate many private homes, with children all around the globe opening their presents under trees harvested in sustainably managed forests.