钻石圣诞树亮相日本 价值180万美元

Employee for Japan's Takashimaya department store, Masumi Ishizuka, displays a 200.7 million yen (1.8 million USD) Christmas tree and teddy bear to celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday at Takashimaya's main store in Tokyo

For those who don't mind splurging a bit this holiday season, a Japanese department store is offering a Christmas tree with 400 diamonds for a cool 1.8 million dollars.

Takashimaya department store chain is selling the tree -- actually a small tower of preserved roses with a teddy bear -- for a symbolic 200.7 million yen from Wednesday to kick off its year-end sales campaign.

The tree, which stands 40 centimeters (16 inches) high, features about 100 carats of diamonds from southern Africa and Australia, the department store said.

The smaller diamond pieces "sparkle charmingly like morning dew on petals, while two-carat and three-carat pieces mesmerise admirers with their noble glow," the store said in a statement.

The tree is based on a design by Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquaud.

In recent years, many Asian people are embracing the western festival as a great excuse for shopping, partying and even romance, though few of them are Christians.

In Japan, Christmas Eve has taken on a meaning similar to Valentine's Day, being the time for romance among young couples.

不惜在圣诞节小“挥霍”一把的人注意了：日本一家百货商场正在出售一款镶有400颗钻石、价值180万美元的圣诞树！

这颗圣诞树呈小塔状，树身由玫瑰干花组成，还配有一只泰迪熊。日本高岛屋百货连锁店从本周三起开始销售这款钻石圣诞树，这颗圣诞树开价2.007亿日元，象征着今年的年份“2007”，由此拉开商场岁末大促销的序幕。

据高岛屋百货连锁店介绍，这颗圣诞树高40厘米，树上镶的共100克拉的钻石都产自南非和澳大利亚。

高岛屋百货连锁店声称，“小钻石就像清晨花瓣上的露珠，闪烁着迷人的光芒；而2克拉和3克拉的钻石则以其高贵的光芒吸引着倾慕者”。

这颗钻石圣诞树是由一家名叫Claude Quinquaud的法国巴黎花店设计的。

尽管亚洲的基督教信徒很少，但近年来，很多亚洲人也过起了西方的圣诞节，人们都想趁机享受一下购物与聚会的乐趣，而体验浪漫更是这个节日的一大主题。

在日本，平安夜和情人节有着近乎相同的意义，年轻夫妇和情侣们会在这一天尽情享受二人世界的浪漫。

splurge:to spend extravagantly or wastefully（挥霍）