Right about now, Christmas trees are sprouting all over the world. It’s almost Christmas — the most wonderful time of the year! In the Philippines, carols have started playing and lights a-blinking since September. The season is a big deal in this country and cities hold a “silent” contest for the best displays, biggest lanterns, and most extravagant light shows. It’s no surprise that cities vie to have the tallest Christmas tree in the Philippines.
Where is the tallest Christmas tree in the Philippines?
As of this writing, Tagum City in Davao del Norte plays home to the tallest Christmas tree in the country. Standing at a staggering 172 feet, Tagum City’s holiday tree holds the record since 2007. The second tallest Christmas tree in the Philippines is located in Cubao, Quezon City.
Tagum City’s holiday tree stands in the middle of City Hall Square. It’s a grand 10-layer structure lighting up the city center with about 4,000 light bulbs. The entire City Hall Square is a spectacle itself with light installations on its buildings and surrounding flora.
Holiday Activities in Tagum City
Aside from having the tallest holiday tree, Tagum City also has one of the longest night markets spanning over a kilometer along the city’s main thoroughfare. Much like the Roxas Night Market of Davao City, you can find all sorts of merchandise here: food, beverage, clothes, shoes, bags, cellphone accessories, and even stickers!
Night markets are the perfect avenue for startup businesses to introduce their products to the public. Case in point: Mang Danny’s Ice Cream. The lowly traditional ice cream cart manned by old Manong Danny catapulted to success through the Roxas Night Market. Their blockbuster ice cream makes people line up any day of the week.
Tagum City’s holiday activities include the official lighting ceremony on November 16th and the opening of the night market where holiday shopping can be done in the safety of the open air. Locals and visitors alike welcome the comeback of in-person activities after almost 3 years of COVID restrictions in place.
Other Tall Christmas Trees
It’s always been a tradition for malls to put up giant Christmas trees as early as November to ignite the holiday spark. Around the same time, malls hold holiday sales offering huge discounts and make a big event of their tree-lighting ceremony.
The giant mall chain SM has two branches in Davao City and we’ve visited both with Little B. We’ve also visited Abreeza’s tree and some other smaller trees in other malls. Another traditional tall tree stands outside of Davao City’s oldest mall Victoria Plaza. We have not seen VP’s tree yet since we live uptown now but I’ll update this post once we get the chance.
Here are some photos of Little B with the giant trees:
Our Tree At Home
We’ve recently moved and I have been looking forward to decorating our new house for Christmas. I finally got around to putting up the tree last week. The tree is 7 feet tall, a bit too big for our tiny house but we love it! It may not be the tallest Christmas tree in the Philippines but it could be the tallest in our neighborhood. We decided on a blue-and-silver theme this year to go with our simple grey-and-white palette for the house.
To keep up with the minimalist theme of our home, our only other Christmas decor is the Belen (nativity scene) and the giant parol (lantern) which we have not hung yet. We also have a living tree outside that I’ve decorated with solar LED lights. So in essence, we have two tall Christmas trees!
Christmas is less than a month away and everyone is excited to receive presents and just celebrate with family. We’re all looking forward to spending our first holidays in our new home. Have you decorated yet? Show us some photos in the comments! I would love to get inspiration for next year’s tree!
