Lisbon raises its Christmas standard
Europe's tallest artificial Christmas tree came to life this week in a blaze of over two million lights and a fireworks display before a crowd of thousands in the Portuguese capital. It took workers 44 days to set up the 72m, 180-tonne tree in Lisbon's Praca do Comercio in the historic center of the city, organizers said. The tree, whose height is the equivalent of a building of over 20 storeys, will be on display in the busy shopping district until Jan. 8. Officials expect 300,000 people will visit the tree over the holidays.
India's Scottish tea connection is lost
India's northeastern state of Assam has called off a search for the descendants of two Scottish brothers to commemorate their discovery of wild tea bushes more than 180 years ago. "We tried our best through diplomatic and personal channels to identify family members of the Bruce brothers and invite them to the festival. But we simply could not trace anybody," Assam's tourism commissioner S.C. Panda said. Assam, the heart of India's tea industry, was planning to honor family members of Robert Bruce and his brother Charles at a three-day "Tea Tourism Festival" starting Dec. 4. The Bruce brothers first discovered tea bushes in Assam with the help of some local tribal chieftains in 1823. The discovery helped start India's tea industry and end China's position as the world's supplier of the beverage. But after three weeks of searching, Assam, which is trying to promote tea estate tourism, has decided to go ahead without any Bruce descendants. "We still have many interesting and unique events lined up for the festival," Panda said.
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