[JRC 학생기자] Unique Christmas trees of the whole world

Unique Christmas trees of the whole world
Yeseul Im

Christmas day, December 25th, is the day when the entire country is caught up in a festive mood. Many people decorate Christmas trees. The Christmas tree is one of the symbols of Christmas. Here are some examples of unique Christmas trees in the global village.
In America, there has been a famous Christmas tree put up in New York in front of Rockefeller Center since 1933. It is decorated with 45 thousand bulbs, and this year its height is 25.9 meters. This tree is a 90 year-old spruce from Norway. Also, in Time Square, there is a large digital Christmas tree that is 62 meters tall. The digital tree will be displayed until January 13th of next year.
In Brazil, there is the biggest tree on water in the world. It is placed in Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in Rio de Janeiro. This city is also famous for Statue of Christ the Redeemer. The height of tree is 85 meters, and its weight is 545 tons, having 3.1 million bulbs hung on it. A tree has stood every Christmas since 1996. It is showed until January 6th of next year. This year, close to 200 thousand people were gathered in Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon to enjoy the magnificent fireworks during the lighting ceremony. Also, this Christmas tree on water in Brazil is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
In Japan, there is a 23 meter Christmas tree which was made by 1,100 people. In Osaka city in Japan, 1,100 people dressed as Santa Claus played Christmas tree with red and green boards. The participants were clerks and their families from the shopping mall near Grand Front Osaka(the northern Osaka station.) They completed a ‘Human Christmas Tree’, 13 meters width and 23 meters length on the stairs of square.
In Vatican City, there is a simple tree at St. Peter’s Square. Different than the other luxurious trees of the world, the Vatican tree is festive without big, fancy decorations, reflecting Pope Francis’ frugal character. It has humbled tourist

In Russia, there is not a Christmas tree but a Christmas ball. The Christmas ball is in Moscow, and its height is 11.5 meters. The height of lights that decorated the ball are about 9.5 kilometers. It has been applied to be entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Christmas decoration in whole world.
In Lebanon, there is a golden tree. Its height is 29.5 meters. This tree which is located Byblos, in northern Lebanon, is decorated with not bulbs but 2500 golden colored iron leaves. The Wall Street Journal featured the Lebanon tree as one of its Christmas trees of world.

Donation culture, Is It Ready?
Jae Hyun Shin

The end of 2014 is coming closer. Since it has been an eventful year, a lot of people have spent their time with both laughter and tears. Even though 2014 was full of tragedies, people are finding their own ways to close the year with warm hearts, such as donating or providing sponsorship. Movements trying to share what people have are spreading more and more which is making this winter very meaningful.
In Korea, we can easily see the Salvation Army’s collection stations not only in subway stations but also in downtowns, such as Myeongdong, every winter. Salvationists ring their bells as a wide range of people, from the young to adults, wait in line looking forward to helping others with their own money. One anonymous man donated a million won over the last 4 years. This man left only a letter written saying that he wants this money to be used for the poor and the development of Korea. The media calls him “the Angel of Sinwaldong,” because the only information that we know from his letter is that the place where he lives is Sinwaldong. Inspired by the “Angel of Sinwaldong”, the number of individual donators is increasing in this society.
According to a survey made by Hunet, an education website of office workers (www.hunet.co.kr), about 81 percent of worker respondents answered that they donated for the society this year. Also, there are a number of different ways to help the needy such as educational service activities. Actually, the number of individual volunteers increased in 2014, soaring up to more than 3 times the number of volunteers in 2011. This kind of atmosphere is making our society a warmer place to live.
Still, however, there is a long way to go to reach a mature “donating culture.” Even though the donation of the citizens has increased, it is a small amount compared to other developed countries. For example, Korea’s average amount of donation is only 0.9 percent of that of US. Experts say that even though individuals have started to make a donation more, the amount still needs to increase. Some say that they avoid such endowment because they think that charity organizations lack transparency. This means that the operation of such donating organizations should be surely guaranteed. If these conditions are fully satisfied, Korea will soon have mature donating culture. A lot of people are looking forward to confronting a maturity of such a culture.