When The Guardian began posting pictures of a giant Lego Christmas tree being erected in London's St. Pancras Station, the newspaper's Flickr account inspired users to create 3D Lego pictures of 2011, giving the year's news through a series of submissions done entirely in Lego blocks.

Encompassing everything from the pie-ing of Rubert Murdoch to Obama and his national security team in the war room, from the topical and silly to the powerful and transcendent, these artists created not just scenes but occasionally entire worlds within their Lego creations.

Below, check out four of the best pictures for the year's news in Lego 2011, from the royal wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William to Occupy Wall Street student supporters being pepper sprayed by Lt. Pike at UC Davis. Then, see some of the best shots of the Lego Christmas Tree at St. Pancras Station, London, which has been wowing visitors for almost a month.

To see the full gallery for 2011 in Lego, check out The Guardian's slideshow.

Lego Christmas Tree
More than 1,000 Lego ornaments were added to the Lego Christmas tree. atheistium
Lego Christmas Tree
Lego in Real News: This 40 feet (12.2 m) Christmas tree took two months to build and is made up of 600,000 Lego bricks. _AndyOliver_
Lego Tree
Visitors to the ground floor of St. Pancras International admire the interwoven branches, 172 in all. vishalchoksh1
Royal wedding Kate middleton London Kate middleton