It's a small world at Christmas
Here's the Christmas story that connects those far-flung dots.
Per information from Wikipedia, the Vatican Christmas Tree, or the St Peter’s Square Christmas Tree as it is also called, is the decorated tree that is erected annually in the St Peter’s Square directly in front of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City to celebrate the Christmas holiday season.
The tradition of placing a Christmas Tree in the St Peter’s Square started in 1982 during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, when the Polish-born Pope introduced the Northern European symbol of Christmas Spirit. The tradition of erecting a Christmas Tree was celebrated in northern Europe and in Poland, Pope John Paul II’s country of origin, but not in the Vatican at that time.
The first tree came from Italy.
Since then, the offering of the Christmas Tree to the Pope has become an honor, and each year the Vatican accepts a tree donated by a different European country or region.
The 2013 Vatican Christmas Tree came from the small town of Waldmunchen, Bavaria, Germany. Waldmunchen is where John Alt, Bonners Ferry, and his brothers and sisters were born and raised. It is near the Czech border in northeast Bavaria.
John’s niece, Claudia Alt Spaeth still lives there, and she was on their local committee which applied to have their tree chosen. The competition, as always, was fierce, but their was this year's winner for the state of Bavaria and the country of Germany.
The committee of 100 people from Waldmunchen went by bus to Rome while the tree was transported by a local trucking firm. They even had a private audience with Pope Francis!
Claudia and the committee were honored to be able to accompany the tree to Rome and are shown above with the lighted tree.
Claudia is the daughter of Franz and Maria Alt of the small farm village of Hochabrunn, a few miles from Waldmunchen and the niece of John, Erwin, Herb and the late Al Alt, who all came from that farm to Bonners Ferry in the 1950s and early 60s.
John spent several years living with his uncles on their farm where his mother and his Aunt Rosie were raised right on the Czech border.