Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas puts her flair on the holiday season
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Monica can't believe all the lovingly decorated trees inside the Cook County Treasurer's Office. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
No downtown holiday visit is complete without stops at the (former) Marshall Field's windows, the Millennium Park tree, Christkindlmarket and … the Cook County Treasurer's Office.
Why it matters: For 20 years now, Treasurer Maria Pappas has presented one of the city's most elaborate international holiday displays right in her office.
Driving the news: Called "Christmas Trees from Around the World," it features 87 individually decorated trees reflecting cultures spanning the globe.
- Pappas is also throwing a holiday party tonight at her office, where local diplomats and the public are invited to enjoy the elaborate tree display, music and snacks.
What she's saying: The tradition started after Pappas learned that the people who came to pay taxes in her office "speak 120 different languages," she tells Axios.
- "So I immediately started to cater to them, and that's where I got this Christmas tree idea."
Of note: The display goes beyond Christmas decorations to include a Kwanzaa kinara, a Hindu prayer thali and a menorah.
- Pappas invites "people working or shopping downtown" to "see the beautiful decorations and learn how different cultures celebrate the holidays."
The intrigue: The exhibit inevitably attracts comparisons to the Museum of Science and Industry's "Christmas Around the World," which the treasurer describes as "a Nabisco chocolate chip cookie, and Pappas' is a homemade chocolate chip cookie."
- "I think you'll see when you come in."
Bonus: Sources tell Axios that one of the hottest gifts of the season — official Maria Pappas 2024 calendars — may be given out as party favors at tonight's event.
If you go: The Cook County Treasurer's Office is on the first floor of the County Building, across the street from the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza.
- The display runs through Jan. 2 — 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday, except for tonight's party, which starts at 5pm.