Overview
- Argentine households and public spaces decorate trees on December 8, a tradition that often carries through to January 6, the Day of the Three Kings.
- The date coincides with the Immaculate Conception, formally defined by Pope Pius IX in the 1854 papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.
- The custom long predates Christianity, drawing on northern European solstice rites later reinterpreted with Christian symbolism such as evergreen life, lights as the light of Christ, and the Star of Bethlehem.
- Popular accounts place Argentina’s first trees around 1807, crediting an Irish introducer who decorated a public plaza.
- In Rosario, retailers reported strong December 8 demand for decorations over new trees, with an average ticket of about 20,000 pesos on Calle San Luis.