The traditions of almost a dozen countries, including Australia, Germany, Ukraine, Mexico, Japan and the Philippines, are displayed around the church’s interior, while a tree decorated by pupils from Forest Primary School and a holly and ivy-laden entrance archway are also featured.
Festival organiser Liz Roland said she had been forced to think outside the box for this year’s theme, having organised so many Christmas tree festivals over the years. But the ‘quirkiness’ of some of the featuring countries stood out to her this year.
‘Australians often put sea shells on their trees because it’s obviously their summer time down there at Christmas,’ she said.
‘Germany has a tradition where they place a pickle-shaped ornament on the tree, and the first person to find it is meant to receive good luck for a whole year.’
The most unusual one, she thought, was the Ukrainian tradition.
‘They decorate their trees with spiders and spiders’ webs. I think it stems from a folk tale.’
The festival is open to the public every day from today until Monday 4 January, from 10am-4pm.
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