At the Hirosaki Ascension Church (Yamamichicho, Hirosaki City) on October 26, the Aomori Prefecture Apple Countermeasures Council (Aomori City) recreated the "Christmas Pyramid" made of apples.

A Christmas pyramid is a pyramid-shaped Christmas decoration that decorates small items in the shape of Christian scenes such as angels and the nativity of Christ. According to Momoko Satomura of the Aomori Prefecture Apple Countermeasures Council, Christmas pyramids were made at home in the Erz region of Germany long before Christmas trees were invented, and they were common Christmas decorations using candles and apples. .

Satomura says, "The main business of our association is promotion to increase demand for apples. After learning about the history of apples being used in the ancestors of Christmas trees, we felt a strong sense of mission to make them."

In recreating the Christmas pyramid, he used 30 cut fir branches and 1.4 kilograms of walnuts, referring to documents that describe the history of Christmas. I used Kodama for the apples. The statue of Jesus was made from pottery by Mr. Hiroshi Takano, a Tsugaru pottery traditional craftsman. Lacquer artist Yasuhiko Yamanaka was in charge of the plain wood plate that serves as the base. The supports are made from apple branches, which Mr. Satomura himself peeled off.

I chose the Hirosaki Ascension Church as the place to reproduce it. “At first, I was thinking of building a Western-style building in Hirosaki, but I was lucky enough to be allowed to use it. The location was also good, and it turned out better than I had imagined,” says Mr. Satomura. Kiyozumi Hasegawa, a priest of the Anglican Church Tohoku Church in Japan who manages the church, said, "This is the first time I've seen such a reproduction."

"I hope the custom of decorating apples at Christmas takes root in Aomori," said Satomura with a smile.

The Aomori Prefecture Apple Countermeasures Council plans to exhibit a reproduced Christmas pyramid at the venue of "CHRISTMAS MARKET in Aspam 2022" to be held in Aspam from December 9th to 25th.