World’s Largest Floating Christmas Tree, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
One of my favorite things about Christmas is that, no matter where you are in the world, you’ll find people celebrating in their own special way.
Of course, Christmas traditions extend far beyond the walls of any single home. In many cities, entire communities work together to celebrate the holiday, unified in the name of peace, love, and some truly awe-inspiring Christmas trees you simply must to see to believe.
Years ago, one would have had to travel the world to see these trees. Fortunately, I’m able to share these modern marvels with you right here, saving you the inconvenience of pricey airfare and jetlag.
That said, if you were fortunate enough to have seen any of these trees in person, it must have been the experience of a lifetime! As for the rest of us? We’ll simply have to admire all the beautiful photos of the most amazing Christmas trees from around the world.
World’s Largest Floating Christmas Tree – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
You read that right: The world’s largest floating Christmas tree.
Year after year, the citizens of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil decorate a colossal Christmas tree that traditionally floats in Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. While not a living tree, the structure itself is a towering 280 ft tall, illuminated by millions of lights and weighing several hundred tons. Truly impressive!
The display from 2014 is especially stunning, including spectacular fireworks show for the thousands of people who gathered to join in the festivities.
Rockefeller Plaza – New York, USA
Always a classic, Rockefeller Plaza’s annual Christmas tree is a long-standing American tradition, with a new tree having been decorated in the heart of NYC every year since 1933.
Over half-a-million people pass by the tree each day, admiring its tens of thousands of lights and hundreds of decorations. Once the holiday season is over, the tree continues to be used in the name of the Christmas spirit, with its wood being milled, treated, and made into lumber that is donated to Habitat for Humanity to build homes for people in need.
The “Biggest Christmas Tree In The World” – Monte Ingino, Gubbio, Italy
Since 1981, the city of Gubbio and its residents have made a commitment to building the world’s largest Christmas tree on the face of Mount Ingino. This gigantic gesture is accomplished using thousands of lights and miles of electrical cable. It’s so massive that it can be seen from as far as 30 miles away!
All said and done, the Mount Ingino Christmas tree is nearly a mile tall, at 2,130 ft. It’s so big, in fact, that it was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as “The World’s Largest Christmas Tree” back in 1991, a record that has yet to be broken to this day!
LEGO Christmas Tree – Worldwide
Full-sized LEGO Christmas trees take tons of planning and thousands of man hours when done properly, but the end result is always nothing short of incredible.
Writing this post, I realized that there isn’t a single best LEGO Christmas tree, because so many have been done so very well over the years. So instead of just sharing one, I thought I’d share a couple of my favorites:
Originally built using 600,000 LEGO bricks, this tree was constructed in London’s St. Pancras Station in 2011. It was nearly 33 ft tall!
Here’s another tree from 2014 that’s one of the world’s largest LEGO Christmas trees. Built in Sydney, Australia, it’s difficult to fathom how much time and effort really went into building it. Watch the video to see the construction process from beginning to end!
Emirates Palace Hotel – Abu Dhabi, UAE
Although I don’t think price is important when it comes to Christmas trees, that doesn’t make this tree from 2010 at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi any less breathtaking. With decorations, it was estimated to be worth over $11 million, making it the most expensive Christmas tree in the world!
In addition to the gems and jewels, the decorations on the tree at the Emirates Palace Hotel includes silver and gold bows, white lights, and Christmas baubles. As for the tree itself? It was valued at roughly $10,000, meaning no expense was spared. Amazing!
Have you been to any of these places? Do you have another city not listed here that’s home to your favorite Christmas tree? Tell us about it in the comments!