As is well known, Rīga jealously guards its status as the Christmas tree capital of the world, making the mayor's choice of spruce as crucial a skill as organising municipal transport or rooting out corruption in procurement contracts.
Consequently Staķis and Chairman of the Board of the municipal company “Rīgas meži” Anita Skudra together with the children's vocal ensemble “Knīpas un Knauķi” hiked into Tīreļi forest and selected the three main Christmas trees for Rīga this yuletide. The central spruce will be located in the Dome Square and two more - in the Town Hall Square and on the November 11 embankment.
"Today we have chosen the three main Christmas trees in Riga, which will decorate the heart of the city - Dome Square, Town Hall Square and the November 11 embankment. In addition, this is the second year since the tradition was established - along with the main Christmas trees, we also choose 16 Christmas trees for the city's neighborhoods. The feeling of celebration must be both in the city center and where people live and relax - at the homes of Rigans. So we start waiting for Christmas!” said Staķis.
The main spruces in Riga are about 15 meters high and their age is 30 to 40 years.
After the selection of the Christmas trees, Andris Greidāns, a forester in Tīreļi, oversaw the planting of 50 young spruce trees.
If you'd like to read the rules about taking Christmas trees from State Forests, you can do so in this story, while for more on the perennial rivalry between Rīga and Tallinn for spruce supremacy, there's this feature from the archive.
