Fireworks light up the sky above a Christmas tree during a lighting ceremony at Cathedral Square on Dec. 11
Mindaugas Kulbis / AP Photo
President Obama and his family attend the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse, just south of the White House, on Dec. 9.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo
A Christmas tree on Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral in the background on Dec. 2
Mikhail Metzel / AP Photo
A 50-foot-tall Christmas tree made of lobster traps on Beals Island, seen Dec. 2.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP Photo
Choristers of Westminster Abbey stand as a 25-foot Christmas tree is illuminated on the North Green on Dec. 6.
Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
Two men look at a Christmas tree decked out with $11 million worth of gold, at the Emirates Palace hotel, on Dec. 16. The hotel's general manager, Hans Olbertz, was quoted in local newspapers as saying the 43-foot faux fir has 131 ornaments that include gold and precious stones, including diamonds and sapphires. The $11 million symbol of the season has become the latest extravagance at the Emirates Palace hotel, which boasts its own marina, heliport, and a vending machine that pops out small gold bars.
Hussein Malla / AP Photo
A Christmas tree lighting ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 17.
Franco Origlia / Getty Images
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit on Nov. 30. Originally from Mahopac, New York, the 12-ton, 74-foot Norway spruce is adorned with 30,000 environmentally friendly LED lights on more than five miles of electrical wire, and topped with a Swarovski crystal star.
Stan Honda, AFP / Getty Images
A giant Christmas tree stands in the center dome of Galeries Lafayette department store on Dec. 19.
Peter Dejong / AP Photo
A lit Christmas tree made of 5,480 recycled bottles, made by Israeli industrial designer Hadas Itzcovitch and her father, artist Ernest Itzcovitch, on Dec. 13.
Dan Balilty / AP Photo
The official White House Christmas tree is seen in the Blue Room on Dec. 1. The theme for the White House Christmas 2010 is "Simple Gifts."
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
A Christmas tree in Piazza dei Signori at the Verona Christmas Market on Dec. 4.
Marco Secchi / Getty Images
