KOCHI: On the evening of December 25, when the massive rain tree was lit up at Veli ground in Fort Kochi, the sea of spectators, all holding their smartphones up, cheered in unison. The tree, bathed in yellow lights, looked majestic, and they wanted to capture every second of the memorable moment.
Among the revellers were people from as far as Mumbai and UP who had travelled all the way to Kochi to personally witness the sensational Christmas tradition that they had until now seen only in viral videos on social media.
The historic rain tree is considered Asia’s biggest natural Christmas tree. Adorned in thousands of bulbs — yellow this year — and traditional festive decorations, the 200-year-old tree has taken social media by the storm in the past few years, attracting massive crowds to Veli Ground and sparking trends like ‘Guess This Year’s Colour’ on social media. Shashank Sharma, 28, from Banaras in UP had been planning to celebrate Christmas in Kerala. That was when his colleagues told him not to miss the lighting of the tree.
“I came to Kerala as I have heard a lot how Christmas celebration is different here,” said Shashank.
“A majority of my non-Malayali viewers on Instagram loved the reel about the tree; many were amazed at the communal harmony and enthusiasm on display,” he said.
Mumbai-based influencer Ruchika Asatkar said she was already in Kochi when someone invited her to witness the tree on Christmas day. “It was an amazing experience,” said Ruchika.
“I have never seen such a massive crowd waiting for one thing, for the lights to turn on. Many of my followers, mostly non-Malayalis messaged me saying they had added it to their bucket list. Many are planning to come next year itself,” Ruchika said. Her Instagram reel of the tree amassed over 10 million views in just a couple of days.
The tree is decorated by Knights United Club in Fort Kochi. Since 2019, the tree is adorned with 1,800 LED strips and a 40kg neon star that appeared in blue, red and green and finally yellow this year. The decorations will be in place until New Year day.
Though some on social media raised concerns about the wild life that calls the tree home, many expressed their desire to be a part of the tradition in the coming years.