Kremlin Christmas tree to be blessed before being felled
Russia`s main Christmas tree will be consecrated before it is felled in the Moscow region, Natalya Polovodskaya, a spokeswoman for the Klin Municipal District outside Moscow said on Wednesday.
"Before the main Russian Christmas tree is cut down, a ceremony dedicated to this will be held. The tree will first be blessed by Archpriest Boris Balgofrov," Polovodskaya said, adding that the 30-meter tree will be sent to Moscow on December 17.
She said the tree would receive a prayer and be sprinkled with holy water before being hacked down with a symbolic ax.
The tree for Russia`s square is meticulously selected according to age. It should be a "mature" tree, over 100 years old, the spokesman for the presidential property department, Viktor Khrekov said.
Since 2007, the main Christmas tree in Moscow has been displayed on Cathedral Square within the Kremlin walls.
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