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On The Table Read, “the best creativity magazine in the UK“, we look at Vilnius city’s Christmas tree designs which have achieved global recognition, set decoration trends, and combined echnological innovation with respect for heritage.
Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, has long been regarded as displaying some of the most beautiful Christmas trees in the world a,nd have influenced decorating trends worldwide. Instead of a genuine tree imported from a forest to decorate Vilnius Cathedral Square, artists usually create a tree like installation made from sustainable spruce branches, metal structures, garlands, mirrors, and more to create a magical, fairytale-like space.
Until a few years ago, Vilnius displayed a traditional Christmas tree in the heart of the city — the Cathedral square, next to the Bell Tower, built on one of the oldest buildings from the XIII century. However, the city has taken a step to create something bigger: a gigantic art installation istead of the classic tree. We will take a look at some of the most iconic trees since 2015.
In 2021, the Vilnius Christmas tree came represented a soft-white and dazzling Christmas, inspired by the elegance of wintertime nature and the shapes of actual snowflakes. Featuring 96 snowflakes with white spruces of various sizes and designs, magnified more than 1,000 times, the tree had a veil of dazzling garlands. A 200 metre square mirror surface produced the illusion of glistening snow, and the top of the tree was illuminated with a 6 metre diametre Christmas star.
In 2019, Vilnius featured a chess-themed Christmas, with the tree was transformed into the the Queen. Elements of the popular fabrics from the time of Queen Bona Sforza in Vilnius created a royal blue dress, against a silver cloak made from over 100,000 lights. During archaeological excavations, an impressively ornamented and ornate Queen’s piece was found on the territory of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania . It was the main inspiration for this year’s Christmas tree in Cathedral Square. The European Best Destinations portal voted it the most beautiful Christmas tree in Europe.
In 2018, the Vilnius Christmas tree was an original artistic creation called Time. The spectacular 27 metre high Christmas tree was covered with 6000 branches in the shape of a stylized clock, with dynamic clock gear-snowflakes that pulsed at the rate of the corresponding clock gear, stopping briefly every 15 minutes. Standing in tune with the Cathedral’s bell tower clock the tree represented the passage of time. The Christmas tree lights flashed every hour for as many times as there were hours. The Time tree was even ranked among the world’s top ten most beautiful trees by Euronews.
In 2017, the 27-meter-tall purple shrouded Christmas tree was loved by both locals and visitors to Vilnius. The creators of the tree left used the Christmas tree veil from 2016, but this time its patterns resembled a giant snowflake, whose full beauty unfolded when seen from above. Adorned with 70,000 light bulbs and 900 Christmas toys, the tree was so luminous that it could be viewed from an airplane approaching Vilnius Airport. Purple is very rarely used in Christmas decorations, and was considered to be a bold design decision. That year, Vilnius’ tree was voted the most beautiful Christmas tree in Europe.
In 2015, the Vilnius Christmas tree was transformed into a real fairy-tale house. Famous people, including Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Vilnius’ Mayor Remigijus Šimašius, came to the tree to read fairy tales and excerpts of literary works for children. The design invited people to remember their childhood and imagine a cosy fairytale house, with snow-covered roofs, warm lanterns, and inviting light coming through the windows. The balcony reflected the idea that the world is one house. The Guardian and The Huffington Post listed the 25-meter Vilnius spruce as one of the world’s most beautiful trees along with other cities. The following year, Christmas markets around the world were inspired by the idea of the spruce.
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