Christmas Tree Illuminated by 50,000 Lightbulbs Opens Festive Season in Vilnius

On the evening of November 26, 2016, the spirit of Christmas came to Vilnius as the Christmas Tree was lit at 19:00 on Cathedral Square in the heart of the city’s Old Town.

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Building on the success of last year’s Christmas Tree, which was nominated as one of the best in the world by The Guardian, this year’s tree has promised to be even better, as it casts as a net lit with 50,000 lightbulbs over the ‘Christmas Town’ festive market on the centre of the square.

Vilnius Mayor, Remigijus Šimašius, described the tree’s decor as making it look like “something from a fairy tale.”

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Šimašius then went on to encourage not only those in Vilnius, but everyone across Lithuania to embrace the Christmas spirit.

He added: It’s time for every town and city to decorate and light their Christmas trees, and just celebrate this special time of year.”

The 2016 Christmas Tree is bigger than last year’s at a height of 27 metres, and a width of 50 metres. In total, it covers 2,500 square metres. The lightbulbs are so bright, that they are visible to everyone flying in to or out of Vilnius Airport.

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After the tree was lit, a Christmas Concert took place, featuring the following artists: Mantas Jankavičius, Merūnas Vitulskis, Linas Adomaitis, Girmantė Vaitkutė, Jurgis Brūzga, Sasha Song.