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From Norway with love - 22nd December 2023

Crowds of people went to a forest near Oslo, Norway to see this 20 metre high tree. It was chosen as a thank you gift from Oslo to London, and the mayor explains why.

Anne Lindboe: "This is a very, very important tradition for us in Oslo. The Christmas tree that we're sending to London every, every year, it’s a token of gratitude for the help that we received during the Second World War."

In 1940, the German army entered Norway in the Second World War. The Norwegian king, King Haakon, travelled to London to stay safe. It’s believed he started the tree custom after the war ended. The first tree was sent to the English capital in 1947.

But there’s another story which involves Ian Fleming, the James Bond author.

Information in a British museum tells the story of a Norwegian soldier, a commando. He brought two trees from Norway to England. He was planning to give them to King Haakon. At the time, Ian Fleming heard the news and he bought the commando dinner in an expensive hotel, in central London. For fun, they left one of the trees in Trafalgar Square!

Who knows if this story’s true? But even so, the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square has become an important custom. It shows the friendship between the two countries. The mayor of Westminster, London, and the Oslo mayor attend the event in Norway. They’re also together for the lighting ceremony in England.

Anne Lindboe: "But it’s also become to mean so much more. And, and we are living in these really, really dark times. And now I think the Christmas tree, it symbolises peace, it symbolises standing together, friendship between cities."