Edegem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Edegem will again organise Christmas tree burning on January 24, 2026, with 150 trees, youth clubs, and live music, ensuring a safe, low-impact, community-focused celebration led by Mayor Koen Metsu.
As VRT News reported, the town of Edegem, in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, will hold the traditional Christmas tree burning again this year. The event will be organised together with local youth clubs.
5 years ago, Edegem and other municipalities in Flanders decided to stop the practice. The main reason was environmental concerns. They mentioned that burning Christmas trees releases pollutants such as particulate matter, dioxins, and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
“The environmental impact remains extremely important to us as a municipality,”
says Alderman for Youth Andries Tjalma (CD8V).
“That’s why the Christmas tree burning will have a new, modern design. We won’t be burning hundreds or thousands of trees like we used to, but a maximum of 150. If we organised a Christmas drink, there would already be 15 campfires and 15 gas burners, which is comparable to one large campfire, now.”
“There will be no additional damage to the environment; it will not be the big Christmas tree burning of the past,”
Koen Metsu (N-VA), mayor of Edegem
What is Edegem doing to revive Christmas tree burning with youth clubs?
Despite these concerns, the municipality says the environmental impact will be limited. Mayor Koen Metsu (N-VA) confirmed that the burning will be controlled and safe. The event is also a community activity. Youth clubs will play a central role in organising and taking part.
“Intermunicipal company IGEAN shreds most of the Christmas trees they collect; a minority are burned. We will burn a minimal portion. It will remain environmentally neutral; there will be no additional damage. It won’t be the large-scale Christmas tree burning of the past.”
In Edegem, the Christmas tree burning will take place on Saturday, January 24th, 2025, starting at 6 p.m. The event will be held at the Drie Eikenstraat parking lot, near the castle drive of Hof Ter Linden. Alderman Tjalma said the municipality wants to involve everyone and bring back the community spirit. The evening will feature live music and a controlled burning to ensure safety.
For many years, towns in Flanders and other parts of Belgium celebrated the end of the Christmas season by burning used Christmas trees in bonfires. The tradition goes back to older folk-fire festivals and was often organised as a village or neighbourhood event after Christmas.
In the late 1990s and during the 2000s. By 2020, only a few municipalities still allowed Christmas tree burnings.
The municipality of Grobbendonk held its Christmas tree burning last year. The event returned after local youth organisations asked the municipality to bring back the tradition. In recent years, the burning had been replaced by a Christmas drink, which included a fire and light show.
