Early December is a special time for Trafalgar Square. Each year, the lovely people of Norway donate a behemoth of a tree to London as thanks for helping them out in World War II, and have done since 1947, which is rather nice of them. Now, it has been confirmed that the Norwegian tree will be back on its way to London for a grand Christmas 2023 (in its 76th year, no less) unveiling on Thursday, December 7. The tree is going to light up Trafalgar Square for another Christmas and, truly, it’s a time for celebration and festive cheer!
At least, it is for some people. For truthfully, many Londoners make picking on the Trafalgar tree an equally important tradition, with phrases like “world’s tallest cucumber” often bandied about. In 2019, for instance, the major complaint was that the tree was too thin – bodyshaming a Christmas tree, real classy guys… There are usually some snide comments about the vertical lights, too. The lights hang like that because that’s how Christmas trees are decorated in Norway – so if you’ve got a problem, take it up with Norway, not the tree!
Anyway, that’s enough Scrooging for one day. The tree faces a pretty epic voyage to get from the Nordmarka Forest to Trafalgar Square: riding the waves like the Vikings of old, taking to the motorways, and finally being hefted into place. The ceremony is then faithfully attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster.
In past years, the ceremony has been streamed on Facebook and YouTube, so we’d expect this format to make a return. It’ll be welcomed in with the special service from 5:30pm – 6:30pm on December 7, and will remain in the square for an entire month until it comes down on January 6, 2024.
Lots of effort required to bring the tree to Trafalgar Square and get it lit – but as an iconic part of any London Christmas, we can safely say it’ll surely be worth it once it’s spruced up with all the lights!
The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree arrives on December 7, and you can find more information here.
Also published on Medium.
