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THE Christmas lights were turned on the traditional tree in Saint Peter's Square on Friday, which this year comes from the northern Italian region of Alto Adige and is almost one hundred years old.
Grown at an altitude of almost 1,500m, the 93-year-old tree was a gift from the small town of Luson. Pope Benedict XVI met with a group of pilgrims from the hilltop town on Friday afternoon to thank them.
'The Christmas tree enhances the symbolic value of the crib, a message of fraternity and friendship and an invititation for unity and peace,' the pontiff said.
The 34m-tall Christmas tree was decorated on the main square in the Vatican with the help of a large crane.
The tradition of putting up a tree in Saint Peter's Square began in 1982 with Pope John Paul II. Each year a different European country or region has the honour of donating a tree to the Vatican.
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