Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

London is a vibrant city teeming with culture and history. Aside from the London Eye and Madame Tussauds’ Wax Museum, tourists often take in the pomp and glory of Trafalgar Square.

Right in the center of London, Trafalgar Square is host to a number of statues and sculptures. In the middle of the center is Nelson’s Column, a monument commemorated to Admiral Nelson who died in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Guarded by four lion statues at its base, the Column is an impressive landmark that never fails to inspire awe in visitors.

Named to honor British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, the square is a public place open for community gatherings and political demonstrations. As such, each year, to usher the beginning of the Christmas season, Londoners are treated to the annual lighting of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree.

The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree practice was begun in 1947. That year, the people of Oslo donated a tree to the city of London to show their gratitude for British support during World War II.

Apart from its lighting ceremony, the tree’s cutting ceremony is also a much attended event. Held every November, it is a symbolic event graced by the British Ambassador to Norway, The Mayor of Oslo and the Lord Mayor of Westminster.

The lighting ceremony, meanwhile, takes place each first Thursday of December and is presided over by the Lord Mayor of Westminster. The atmosphere of the event is always festive as a band or a choir is on hand to deliver traditional Christmas carols at the flick of the switch.

Traditionally, the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree serves as a focal point for carol-singing programs. Annually, the tree provides a brilliant and beautiful backdrop to the number of programs for charitable causes. In 2009, a new custom was added and poems from the Poetry Society are displayed prominently around the base of the tree.

Unlike the dizzying light display of the Rockefeller Center tree, the 20-meter Trafalgar Square tree is adorned in the modest style of classic Christmas trees from Norway. Lit with eco-friendly lighting, Trafalgar Square has also come to symbolize the city’s environment friendly policies.

After the Holidays, the Christmas tree is then taken down and sent to a lumber mill where it is chipped down and turned into mulch. The British government believes that by setting the tree as a recycling example, its citizens will be inspired to follow suit and recycle their Christmas rubbish.

Thus, the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree is more than a Christmas symbol. It signifies the bond between two countries and in recent times, have also come to signify humanity’s role and responsibility in the saving the planet.responsibility in the saving the planet.