Norway has donated a Christmas tree to London’s Trafalgar Square every year since 1947. The gift comes from Oslo as a thank-you for Britain’s support of Norway during the Second World War.
The tradition reflects the close wartime relationship between the two countries. Norway’s King Haakon VII and government lived in exile in London during the German occupation, while Britain supported Norwegian resistance and the government-in-exile. Oslo’s annual tree therefore became a public symbol of friendship and gratitude.
The tree is usually a large Norway spruce selected from Oslo’s forests. It is shipped across the North Sea and erected in Trafalgar Square, where its lighting ceremony and nearby carol singing mark the Christmas season. The tree normally remains through the Twelve Days of Christmas before being removed and recycled. A wartime predecessor appeared in the square in 1942, but the annual postwar tradition dates from 1947.