Cutting down a tree, hauling it inside, and decking it out in lights, tinsels and baubles is a tradition that harks back generations. But what – and where – is the world’s largest Christmas tree? Well, that depends.
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The record for the world’s tallest bedded Christmas tree was broken earlier this year by the National Trust Cragside in Northumberland, UK.
The tree in question – a Giant Redwood (Wellingtonia) – stands almost 147 feet (44.7 meters) tall, nestled among the conifers and dazzling visitors with over 1,300 colorful fairy lights. According to the BBC, the record-breaking tree was planted in the 1860s, making it over 150 years old. The tree was chosen not because it is the garden’s tallest tree (it’s not) but because of logistics – its positioning makes it accessible by cherry picker and to members of the public.
In contrast, the tree in Dortmund’s Christmas market claims to be the world’s largest Christmas tree and is fractionally taller, but it is not a singular tree. Rather, it is a compilation of 1,200 Norway spruces tacked onto a 148-foot (45-meter) structure.
Still, if you wanted to see the tallest Christmas tree ever, you would need to commandeer a time machine. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the gold medal belongs to the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, which installed a 212-foot (54.6-meter) tree in December 1950 to mark its opening year. That is equivalent to 20 stories and is more than twice the height of New York’s famous Rockefeller tree.
Indeed, the tree was so large, the branches had to be removed before it was transported and then reattached once it had reached its final destination. Another interesting fact: forest trees have clean (aka branchless) trunks that stretch approximately 65 feet (20 meters) before reaching the lower branches. This meant branches had to be pilfered from other trees and tethered to the lower part of the Northgate tree in order to create the traditional Christmas tree shape.
If a time machine is unavailable, the largest Christmas tree in the U.S. can be found outside the Citadel Outlets in LA. According to LAist, the tree is a white fir and 115-foot (35-meter).
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