In 2012, in the Town Hall Square in Kaunas, the Christmas spirit was created by a shimmering golden Christmas tree, standing fifteen meters tall. It was adorned with about 40,000 golden-coated pine cones, and it consisted of three levels. Traditionally, visitors could enter the first level, which was made up of thirty-five different-sized Christmas trees. They could sit on golden benches and write greetings and wishes. In this level, blind people had the opportunity to read the Christmas greetings as well. They were written in Braille on metal plates surrounding the tree trunk using a special technology.
In the middle section of the tree, on a special structure, eight golden angels made of plastic and metal were spinning. They held small bells that spread good tidings. Kaunas artists worked on creating these dancing angels throughout the autumn. All the angels shared common features, but each artwork was unique and reflected the artist’s individual perspective.
In the third level of the Christmas sculpture, there was a seven-meter-tall tree with a golden sun shining at its top, created with the inspiration of Lithuanian folk symbolism. The choice of gold colour for decorating the tree was not accidental and was made by the author of the idea, J. Šmidtienė. According to her, Kaunas is a city of relatively conservative people, and gold represents eternal value. This golden Christmas tree was exceptional, unpredictable, enchanting, elegant, radiating light, and tempting with its unique decoration that spread the warmth of human touch rather than cheap glitter.
