The Christmas Tree On City Hall Square 1930, Bing & Grondahl Christmas Plate

1930 Bing & Grondahl Christmas plate, designed by H. Flügenring, is titled The Christmastree on City Hall square. Bing & Grondahl’s Christmas plate from 1930 depicts the Christmas tree at the town hall in Copenhagen. This square is shaped as a shell, as the architect was inspired by the town hall in Siena, Toscana, where the square was also shaped as a shell. In Denmark the first Christmas tree was lit at Holsteinsborg in 1808. In 1817 the famous Danish writer Johan Ludwig Heiberg spoke in favour of the Christmas tree, where- as Grundtvig spoke of this tradition as watered-down Christianity. In 1847 Peter Faber wrote “Højt fra træets grønne top”, where all the traditions around the Christ- mas tree are described. The first outdoor Christmas tree in Denmark was lit at the town hall square in Copen- hagen in 1914, and hereafter this custom spread to almost every town in Denmark.