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Riga Christmas tree erected in Brussels central square

BC, Riga, 21.11.2014.Print version

Riga Christmas tree has arrived in Brussels and was erected at the city's main square "Grand Palace" yesterday morning, the Riga City Council told LETA.

 

In 2014, the Christmas tree for Brussels was picked in Riga to inform the Belgian public about the legend according to which the first ever Christmas tree in Europe was set up in Riga.

 

The Christmas tree will remain at "Grand Palace" in Brussels until January 4, and it will also present Riga as the European Capital of Culture in 2014, notes the Riga City Council.

 

The fir tree that is now in Brussels was picked in a forest in Babite on the outskirts of Riga, and it left for Belgium on November 14 on board a ship, reaching the destination today. In order to emphasize Latvian history steeped in tradition, the Christmas tree from Riga is decorated with Latvian traditional ethnographic symbols.

 

The official opening ceremony for the Riga Christmas tree in Brussels will be on November 28. Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs (Harmony Center), Brussels Mayor Ivan Mayeur, Latvian Ambassador to Belgium Lelde Lice-Licite and other officials will participate in the ceremony, as well as the Latvian Choir of Brussels.





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