Thousands take their hats off to a Xmas tree

By Phuoc Tuan, Quynh Tran December 20, 2020 | 05:20 am PT

Residents and devout Christians are awestruck by a towering, spectacular Christmas tree with 2,340 conical hats that is glittering in Dong Nai Province.

The Christmas tree of five layers has been on display since last week at Ha Phat Church in the town of Bien Hoa of Dong Nai, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City. We see that the idea of making a pine tree from conical hats has a strong traditional culture. All parishioners are proud of this tree, said Nguyen Van Han, head of the parishioner delegation.

The Christmas tree with five layers of conical hats has been on display since last week at the Ha Phat Church in Bien Hoa Town, Dong Nai Province, which neighbors Ho Chi Minh City.
It took parishioners of the church three months to build this tree, 35 meters high.
"All parishioners are proud of this tree," said Nguyen Van Han, 50, head of the parishioner delegation.
This is the third year the church has made such a unique Xmas tree, which is 5 meters higher than the one last year.

Conical hats, or non la, a traditional item of Vietnamese people that are made from palm leaves, are attached to the metal framework.

The conical hats, or non la, a traditional and iconic headwear of the Vietnamese people made with palm leaves, have been attached in concentric circles to a metal framework to make the tree.

The layer at the bottom of the tree, built at the is the biggest with a diameter of 13 meters.A pillar of concrete was built in the center before other frameworks go up to make the tree. We have to make very careful calculation to ensure safety, says Han.

The layer at the bottom of the tree is the biggest, with a diameter of nearly 13 meters.
A pillar of concrete was built in the center to support the metal framework. "We had to make very careful calculations when building the pillar to ensure safety," said Han.

A closer look at the hats that make the Chritmas tree, built completely from contributions of parishioners.

An overview of the church that is highlighted by the unique Chritmas tree.

An overview of the church whose yard hosts the tree.

The tree has been acting like a treat that attracts many visitors.

The Xmas tree has been attracting thousands of people every day.

Phuong in Bien Hoa Town takes a photo of his wife and daughter with the tree. We are all impressed by the tree, he says.

Phuong of Bien Hoa Town takes a photo of his wife and daughter with the tree. "We are all impressed by this tree, which stands so high and has such a unique design," he said.