Christmas Tree

This year's Christmas Tree Walk will be held Saturday, Dec. 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. on Main Street. Stores will be open and offer treats during the event, which will feature a number of holiday activities. - David Cogger

Did you find a Kindle Fire under your Christmas tree this year? Or maybe some other kind of tablet computer? If you didn't, many other people did. According to a press release from Jumptap, a mobile advertising company headquartered in Cambridge, traffic on the Jumptap network spiked 229 percent above the firm's earlier projection for tablet traffic on the day after Christmas, an indication that a whole bunch of folks were testing out their new...

South Korea says it will allow Christians to light a second Christmas tree-shaped tower near the tense border with North Korea despite strong opposition from Pyongyang. The government allowed a Christian group to light a massive steel Christmas tree near the border last year for the first time in seven years as tensions flared in the wake of two deadly attacks blamed on the North. That tree is to be lit again this month. Communist North Korea's government website warned Sunday that lighting the tree was a form of psychological warfare and would trigger an "unexpected...

While the town didn't collect Christmas trees curbside this year, residents can drop trees off at the landfill on Plympton Street until the end of this month. No dump stickers are required, and there is no charge. - Christine Legere

A helicopter helping install a Christmas tree on Auckland's waterfront has crashed in dramatic fashion, but the pilot escaped serious injury. Footage captured by Television New Zealand on Wednesday shows the pilot slowly descending from about 25 feet (8 meters) when the chopper's blades appear to get caught in cables attached to scaffolding. The rear of the helicopter snaps and the pilot is tossed about as the helicopter smashes into the ground. The television station reports that pilot Greg Gribble, who has 20 years experience, says he's "doing fine" after his ordeal.

Ukrainian pilgrims sang folk songs and carols and recalled the late Pope John Paul II's visit as the Vatican lit its Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, a 25-meter (82-foot) pine from the Carpathian mountains in their country. The tree was decorated with 2,500 gold and silver balls and figures of animals and toys. The ceremony Friday evening included a folk choir with children carrying giant pinwheels, a Christmas tradition in Ukraine. Polish-born John Paul began the tradition of erecting a tall Christmas tree in the square in 1982; the Bavarian-born Pope Benedict XVI has...

It's the Drought That Stole Christmas. Macy's at Atlanta's Lenox Mall must cut down a new Christmas tree after the 60-foot white pine selected for the holidays snapped while being hoisted atop the department store Sunday morning. Melissa Goff with Macy's said the store usually selects its tree from a Georgia forest, but drought conditions have made it difficult to find a healthy tree this year. She said the 11,000-pound tree was from Douglas County. She said a backup tree has been selected and will be brought in this week.

A 65-foot white fir tree selected as the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree was cut down and removed from a picturesque setting in the Sierra Nevada mountains on Saturday, then loaded on a truck for a 4,500-mile journey from Northern California to Washington, D.C. When crews arrived at the tree Saturday morning they found it covered in snow, said Jeff Crider, a spokesman for U.S Capitol Christmas Tree Tour, a nonprofit project overseen by the U.S. Forest...

MENDON - First I hear the shrill cry of children. It is music to my ears. "Mommy, mommy, over here!" Keegan and Mackenzie Veazey prance across the rolling field, followed by their beaming parents. They have sharp bow saws and a metal push cart. I stretch my limbs and preen. I am a perfect specimen, in ideal shape, a tad over 7 feet tall. "It's big and pretty!" Keegan, who is 10, shouts. But she is not pointing at me. She runs to one of my siblings. The family follows.

The town's Christmas tree collection will continue through Feb. 3. Trees should be placed on the curb in front of a residence alongside household trash on the day of regular route collection for your street. All trees must be free of ornaments, lights and tinsel, and cannot be in tree stands, trash bags, or mesh wraps. Only natural trees will be collected. Residents also can drop off their trees at the Robbins Road compost site during regular hours and at the Department of Public Works yard at 1385 Washington St.; Center Pool parking lot; front gate of the Lincoln Road landfill; and the Polley Lane parking lot for...

By Steven Rosenberg, Globe Staff Need to discard your Christmas tree? Beginning tomorrow, and through Jan. 13,  the city of Beverly will pick up trees that are left curbside during regular trash days. Trees should be on the curb by 7 a.m. on trash days, and trees must be free of tinsel, plastic, other decorations and skirting. No wreaths will be collected. For more information, call 978-921-6000 x2355. 

The Highway Department will pick up Christmas trees left curbside this week if trees are out with regular trash by 7 a.m. All decorations must be removed for trees to be taken. Residents may also dispose of Christmas trees at the Mansfield Green, from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Mondays. - Christine Legere

The city tomorrow will start to pick up Christmas trees left in front of people's homes on trash day. Trees must be free of all decorations, including tinsel and garland. They also cannot be placed in plastic bags. Wreaths will not be collected. Curbside pickup will continue until Friday. Residents may also drop off trees during the week at the public works department, located at 356 Commercial St. For more information, call public works at 781-397-7160. -Kathy McCabe

The town will start its curbside collection of Christmas trees tomorrow and continue through Friday. Trees with all metal removed should be placed on the curb in front of a residence by 7 a.m. No wreaths will be collected. Residents also may drop off trees at the Hull Department of Public Works, 9 Nantasket Ave., between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The pickup schedule for individual streets is available at www.town.hull.ma.us. - Johanna Seltz

PICK OF THE DAY Post-Christmas cheer If you spent the holidays trying to survive your family's dysfunction, consider the Wellesley Summer Theatre's new production a form of therapy. Alan Ayckbourn's black comedy ‘‘Season's Greetings" is based on some of the playwright's own familial fiascos. After watching a Yuletide gathering involving lust under the Christmas tree, a puppet show no one wants to see, and a mishap with a gun, you might feel better about your own clan.

One hundred years ago, Boston was bustling. The city grew by more than 2,800 acres when Hyde Park was annexed to Boston. The first subway trains rattled through the tunnel between Park Street and Harvard Square. The state poured millions of dollars into developing the harbor. 1912 was a time of growth and prosperity in the city, and a century later, many of the institutions and traditions launched that year have become Boston landmarks: Fenway Park, Franklin Park Zoo, Fairmont Copley Plaza.