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From Norway with love - 22nd December 2023
Near Oslo, Norway, people came together. They wanted to see this big tree. It’s a Christmas present for London. It’s from the people of Oslo. The mayor of Oslo knows it’s important.
Anne Lindboe: "This is a very, very important tradition for us in Oslo. The Christmas tree that we're sending to London every, every year, it’s a token of gratitude for the help that we received during the Second World War."
During the Second World War, German soldiers entered Norway. The Norwegian king – King Haakon – arrived in England. After the war, the King wanted to say thank you. In 1947, Norwegians sent the first tree to London.
But there’s a different story too.
King Haakon was in Britain. In the war, a Norwegian soldier brought two trees to the UK. The trees were for the King. The soldier’s name was Mons Urangsvåg. Ian Fleming, the James Bond writer, heard about this. He took Urangsvag to dinner. They ate in a London hotel. It was near Trafalgar Square. The two men left one tree there. It was for fun!
Nobody knows if this story is true. But the tree is still important. It shows Oslo and London are friends.
People came together in Trafalgar Square, London. They wanted to see the lights. The mayors from both cities were there.
Anne Lindboe: "But it’s also become to mean so much more. And, and we are living in these really, really dark times. And now I think the Christmas tree, it symbolises peace, it symbolises standing together, friendship between cities."
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