Every year in late November, in the central square of Padua, Italy, a spectacular Christmas tree goes up, heavy with baubles and bright with lights, marking the official beginning of the Christmas season.
Not everyone is buying 20-metre trees, but it wasn't long ago that this variety was so highly sought after in Europe that it was called "the Rolls-Royce of Christmas trees," fetching double the price of other varieties.
Today, across the street from Padua's glimmering tree, you can find a two-metre Nordmann fir for the rock-bottom price of 15 euros, suggesting a significant change in the European Christmas tree market.
Despite shrinking forests, smaller farms and more people to supply, Christmas trees in Europe today are much cheaper than in Canada, where a six-foot tree can cost $75 or more.
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