All Around the World: The most fun and beautiful Christmas trees from the Vatican to the Rockefeller Center

Everything from LEGO-crafted to hanging trees!

With Christmas season comes the rapid purchasing of gifts, large family meals and decorated Christmas trees. We all know how elaborate some people decorate their trees in America, but what about the rest of the world?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Christmas trees are generally decorated with an assortment of ornaments, sparkling lights, and topped with a star, but what about the more elaborate ones? What about the simple but stunning decorations?

Catholic Online presents what Christmas trees look like around the world! 

In America, the Rockefeller Building boasts a 10-ton, seventy-eight-foot-tall Christmas tree decorated with 45,000 lights. 

Fun Fact

In 1931, during the depression-era construction of the Rockefeller center, workers decorated a 20-foot balsam fir with "strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans," thus starting the tradition of erecting a Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center each year!

In Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, the Christmas Baobob Tree can be found at Nelson Mandela Square. The boabab tree is a more realistic option for Africans to use, and in place of delicate glass ornaments, carved wooded beads are often used.

Each Christmas season in Johannesburg is hot, so in place of hot chocolate and egg nog, South Africans indulge in milk tarts and chilled sparkling wine.

The Vatican Christmas tree, also called Saint Peter's Christmas Tree, was decorated with simple and clean white lights. The tree's color scheme blends perfectly with that of the Vatican in Italy.

Paris features an elaborately decorated tree that hangs from the center of the Galeries Lafayette building.

The over-sized ribbons and beads create the illusion of a finely decorated gift, while the baubles and pink lights beneath complete the image as they appear to be a sort of wrapping for the large tree.

In Japan, Christmas is a time for couples. With that said, it isn't unusual for artistic characters to create intricate, cutesy or downright cool Christmas trees. 

Though the Godzilla tree isn't a regular sighting in Japan, several kinds of decorations can be found there.

In Ireland, it is tradition to use real wax candles on the family Christmas tree. Though several have moved to electric lights, many families continue to use candles on their trees.

Some trees, called "Bride's Trees," feature special ornaments to ensure a better life for married couples.

There are 12 specific ornaments of particular significance: God's guidance is featured in the image of an angel, birds represent joy, fish depict Christ's blessing, flower baskets offer good wishes, fruit baskets bequeath generosity, hearts represent love, a house ornament symbolizes protection, a pine cone for fruitfulness, a rabbit for hope, a rose to mean affection, Santa Claus as goodwill and a teapot for hospitality.

The world's tallest floating Christmas tree can be found in Rio de Janeiro's Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. Each year this tree is erected and remains lit through each December night.

It is lit by 3.3 million lights and holds the Guinnes World Record for being the largest floating Christmas tree in the world at 278-feet-high.

In the Philippines, several variations of Christmas tree decorations can be found. This one features strings of lights and star-shaped lanterns. 

Each Christmas, it is Filipino tradition to decorate with paról, star-shaped lanterns. These represent the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Kings to Jesus' birth. 

This year Sydney, Australia featured a 32-foot-tall LEGO Christmas tree and decorations. 

Though traditionally Australia decorates with "Christmas bush," which is a native Australian tree with small leaves and cream flowers, this tree features the artistry of Dale Chassy, who worked on the project with a team in the United States before transporting the 70,000-brick model.

The Grand Place in Brussels features blue this Christmas season. The over-sized, fluffed out Christmas tree boasts blue LED lights that casts a beautiful blue hue across the clean streets and metal decorations. 

The Grand Place serves as a stunning background for this beautifully simply-decorated Christmas tree.

Each of these Christmas trees have been beautifully or playfully presented after hours, weeks or even months of work. Though each is different, they are all worthy of praise.

Like our list? Check out our other top lists on best and worst advent calendars, pet hacks, hair tips, sex, lifting your spirits, dealing with anger, love, common misquotes, how to give and healing.

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