in rio, christmas season officially starts on the first week of December with the inauguration party of the giant lagoa christmas tree.

standing 82 meters (250 feet) tall, this is the biggest floating christmas tree in the world -  the tree features 3.1 million light bulbs, impressive lighting effects, nightly water ballets, and music on the week-ends.

floating on the the iconic lagoa rodrigo de freitas behind ipanema from the first week in December to epiphany in january, this holiday landmark livens up the skyline with constantly changing light patterns and weekly musical shows.

the giant floating christmas tree of lagoa is now one of the biggest events in rio de janeiro's calendar, as people from everywhere come to greet the festivities with their children around the lagoa, with many renting paddleboats swans to take a closer look on the water.