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Germany: Christmas Trees Take a Bizarre Twist

Twinkling lights and bright ornaments are the traditional dress for a Christmas tree. But some young German designers want to prove that flashy, ugly, spicy is the way to go, as they showed at an exhibition in Karlsruhe.

One of the most striking pieces is a plastic fir tree that can be operated by remote control. It swirls around the hall on massive tires. The tree is jostling visitors and other exhibits.

There’s plenty in the exhibition to keep visitors amused: there’s a tree made from green beer bottles or the “sign post forest,” a tree constructed out of three triangular right-of-way road signs on top of one another.

In no time, the artists have also eaten up the multilayered Christmas tree made from cake.

“This tree actually reflects my understanding of Christmas pretty nicely,” Martin said. “When I was a child, Christmas always meant eating loads of great food. Here, you can finally eat Christmas.”

I’m thinking a tree made from all the ugly neckties, knitted sweaters with pictures of cows that look like mutant dogs and other oh, so delightful presents everyone gets each year. Christmas ends like the end of Burning Man where the thing is set on fire.