Giant Christmas tree at Paris and Others

Oversized pink packages with gold bows frame a giant Christmas tree as people shop at a Paris department store ahead of the holiday season in the French capital December 12, 2009.



Santa Claus waves upon his arrival at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. Coming from Lapland, Finland, Santa will be visiting schools, medical centers, will open the Christmas village in Downtown Beirut, and participate in a show on Sunday at Martyr's Square where he will light a giant Christmas tree.


Tallest Christmas tree in USA is in Las Vegas, click this clip...


A Christmas tree lights up Wall Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 in New York.


More than 200 booths offer traditional Thuringian handcrafts and sweets and a big ferris wheel stands on the Christmas Fair in front of the Mariendom (Cathedral of Mary) and St. Severi's Church in Erfurt, central Germany, on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. The Erfurt Christmas Market is one of the most beautiful Christmas Markets in the whole of Germany and the square is beautifully decorated with a huge, candle-lit Christmas tree.


Athens' central Syntagma Square is lit up on Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, during the official inauguration of the Greek capital's Christmas celebrations. Police are on standby in the square for fear vandals might attack the city's main Christmas tree, which was burnt during rioting last year sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager.



A couple hugs in front of a Christmas tree during a lighting ceremony at central Syntagma square in Athens December 11, 2009.



One of the world's biggest Christmas tree illuminates the Christmas market in the city center of Dortmund, western Germany, Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. The 45 meter high and 30 tons heavy tree was made of 1,700 Norwegian spruces.


Residents stand beside a Christmas tree at the Esplanada dos Ministerios in Brasilia December 16, 2009.


SHANGHAI, CHINA - DECEMBER 16: People walk past a huge Christmas tree at the Jing An Si Plaza on December 16, 2009 in Shanghai, China. Christmas is becoming increasingly popular in Chinese consumer culture, along with the Valentine's Day in February and Halloween in October.



Two youths walk near a 7 metres (23 feet) Christmas tree made of 850,000 LEGO bricks at a shopping mall in Jakarta, December 17, 2009.



An employee decorates a Christmas tree with Christmas Ornaments to the theme 'American Christmas' in the Krebs Glas Lauscha GmbH company in Lauscha, central Germany, Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. The company is one of the leading global manufactures of Christmas ornaments.



Fireworks are seen near a giant Christmas tree set in front of Muhammad al-Amin Mosque during Christmas celebrations at Martyr's Square in Downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. The Parade comes in the framework of "Beirut Celebrates" activities, initiated by Solidere, the Lebanese company for the development and reconstruction of Beirut central district.



BEIJING - DECEMBER 14: A worker hangs decorations on a Christmas tree, installed for the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations, on Qianmen Avenue on December 14, 2009 in Beijing, China. Christmas continues to gain popularity in Chinese consumer culture year after year.



A Christmas tree is seen in front of the Zhengyang Gate in central Beijing December 15, 2009.



Fireworks explode as a giant Christmas tree is illuminated during the launch of "Beirut Celebrates" at a Christmas parade in downtown Beirut December 14, 2009.


A guard walks past a Christmas tree during an event organized by an American non-profit organisation, Samaritan's Feet, at Santa Monica female prison in Lima December 15, 2009. Volunteers of the organisation wash the feet of about 40 women inmates and donate 400 shoes during an event at the prison. The children of inmates are permitted to stay with their mothers till they are three years old. There are about 50 children in the prison.


Fireworks are seen near a giant Christmas tree, left, set in front of Muhammad al-Amin Mosque, right, during Christmas celebrations at Martyr's Square in Downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. The Parade comes in the framework of "Beirut Celebrates" activities, initiated by Solidere, the Lebanese company for the development and reconstruction of Beirut central district.


A Christmas tree is seen in the midst of shoppers in a major downtown shopping mall in Toronto December 12, 2009.


photo: Reuters, AP, Gettyimages