Portugal may have the largest crocheted Christmas tree in the world. The original idea was to build a tree three to four meters tall, and now it has reached 17 meters.

Newsroom (22/12/2022 17:05, Gaudium Press) This community project began in May of this year by the Associação de Moradores Unidos da Apelação (AMUA), in Loures, Lisbon. It all started as a “little joke”, which intended to get the older population out of the house and into the street, after two years of confinement due to the pandemic. However, the community’s response “exceeded all expectations”. Every day more women arrived, of all ages, bringing together 70 women, from 11 to 88 years old, according to the project’s coordinator, Catarina Canelas.

“We never thought this project would be so successful. We initially thought about a small tree of 3 to 4 meter and then, as we realized that many people wanted to participate. We decided to go for a 17 meter tree and put it in the ‘Guinness’ book of records,” Catarina said.

However, more important than breaking the record, Catarina Canel stressed the fact that the project manages to bring together a group of women of various ages and various ethnicities. A fact that contributes to the “strengthening of community ties” of the Association.

With a triangular base of 5.20 meters and a height of 17 meters, the inauguration of this Christmas tree was scheduled for December 3.

The tree was to be composed of 7,200 crochet squares, however, “due to the enthusiasm”, about 9,000 have already been crocheted.

Compiled by Florence MacDonald