City of Orlando replaces Christmas trees with snowflakes on light poles: Here’s why

Each year, Orlando gets decked out in holiday décor to celebrate the season.  Festive Christmas trees on light poles along major roads have become a staple decoration that signals December 25th is right around the corner.

But this year, drivers may notice that snowflakes have taken the place of some, if not all, Christmas trees.

Samantha Holsten with the City of Orlando says 1,600 additional custom snowflakes were purchased this year, bringing the total to 2,200. 

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"This will provide a unified holiday decoration appearance throughout the City.  The decoration will match the ones that have been deployed in downtown for the last several years." 

The snowflakes are constructed of a painted aluminum frame with a structure material that is eco-friendly and utilizes energy efficient LED lighting. 

The total cost for the new snowflakes is $1,680,000.

The snowflakes will stay up until the end of January.