Christmas is around the corner, and royal palaces are starting to showcase their preparations for the festivities.
The Danish Royal Household has been posting a digital advent calendar with pictures of specific decorations each day until Christmas Eve; the Swedish royals have been posting pictures of lit Advent wreaths every Sunday; and the British royals have shared on social media images of the Christmas trees and decorations throughout the various palaces.
Yesterday it was the turn of the Belgian monarchy, which posted on Twitter a picture of the exterior of the Royal Palace of Brussels, where a massive Christmas tree has been erected.
The caption reads: “Here it is! The Royal Palace’s Christmas tree arrived this morning and is already shining in a thousand lights,” complete with plenty of emojis.
As the Catholic tradition mandates, the Royal Palace’s Christmas tree will be standing until the 6th of January, which is Epiphany Day. In Italy (another Catholic country and birth place of Queen Paola), there’s a saying that goes, “Epiphany day takes away all the festivities.”
The tweet also explains that the tree, which looks like a White Fir pine, is a gift from the city of Rochefort. Located in the Belgian Province of Namur, in the region of Wallonia, the municipality is famous around the world because it also houses the Trappist Friars’s Rochefort Brewery, which produces many brews, including Rochefort 10.
Belgium is currently grappling with the consequences of a new variant of disease, which is threatening a new shutdown, and unknown consequences on the Christmas celebrations, which is why this festive picture was undoubtedly welcomed by the Belgian population with a smile. Most recently, the health safety uncertainty has meant the postponing of the state visit to Italy, planned for the first three days of December. Instead, King Philippe made a one day trip to Rome, to officially say goodbye to President Mattarella, whose tenure ends at the end of January 2022.
