THE XMAS FILES
Seasonal weirdness abounded in 2023, from wise dogs to deadly trees
CHRISTMAS BONUS
In 1920, eight-year-old Dorothy Grant was given a modest artificial Christmas tree, with just 25 rather sparse branches. Grant kept the tree until her death at the age of 101 in 2014, when it passed to her daughter Shirley Hall. Just before Christmas 2023, Hall, now 84, put the 31in (79cm) tree, which she described as a “humble reminder of 1920s life”, up for sale through Hansons Auctioneers in Banbury, Oxfordshire, where it surprised everyone by selling for £2,600, against a presale estimate of just £60 to £80. Hansons described the result as an “astonishing” price for “the humblest Christmas tree in the world”. Auctioneer Charles Hanson said that the tree probably came from a London department store, where it would have been sold for just a few pence, adding that “It reminds us that extravagance and excess are not required to capture the spirit of Christmas”. BBC News, 15 Dec 2023.
SEASONAL STOWAWAYS
Just before Christmas, Brett Ingram, 29, was working from home in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, when she heard a soft sneeze. “I kept working, thinking I was maybe just hearing things. Then I heard it again with some other squeaking noises,” she said. Searching the room, she spotted “a long, naked, rat-looking tail” hanging from her Christmas tree: “I stopped and kind of looked up some more and saw a large breathing ball of grey fur” – an opossum crouched in the tree branches. Extracting the creature proved something of a challenge, but Ingram eventually managed to wrangle it out of the house and release it in the garden. She believes the opossum had been in the house for at least a couple of days but has no idea how it had got inside. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, while working in the home of a client, carpet cleaner Bob Hayes noticed the branches of their Christmas tree moving and found a baby owl hiding in the foliage. It was thought to have arrived with the tree and had managed to avoid being discovered because its camouflage meant it blended with the tree’s colour. nypost.com, 17 Dec, BBC News, 15 Dec 2023.
FESTIVE FINISHES
In Chelyabinsk, Russia, families watched in horror as an industrial climber dressed as Grandfather Frost – the Russian version of Father Christmas – plummeted to his death from the 24th floor of a high-rise building, landing on a snowcovered structure at first floor level. He was supposed to abseil down the apartment block, then meet and greet children and their families waiting around a Christmas tree on the ground. Initially the onlookers thought the fall was part of the act, and it is believed to have been caused by the climber mixing up his safely ropes; festivities continued until it became clear that a fatality had occurred. As a result, as one onlooker said, “All the parents, naturally, are in shock”.
In Oudenaarde, Belgium, a 63-year-old woman died and two others were injured when the town’s Christmas tree was blown over, falling on a Christmas market taking place in the square around it. “The tree fell in a split second. You cannot describe how quickly that happens,” an eyewitness said. The 2023 Oudenaarde Christmas tree was already considered cursed by residents; first the wrong tree was delivered and then, after the right one arrived and was put up, it started to lean and sag crookedly and needed reerecting. dailystar.co.uk, 23 Dec 2023; vrt.be, 21 Dec 2023.
DECEMBER DISASTERS
Even without having one land on top of you, Christmas trees turn out to be hazardous things. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) reports that more than 1,000 Britons suffer tree-related injuries every year, often from falling after standing on unstable chairs or ladders to reach the upper branches, while the National Accident Helpline (NAH) found that one in 50 people had fallen out of the loft while retrieving Christmas decorations from storage. In addition, around 350 people a year in the UK suffer burns, electric shocks, or other injuries from fairy lights, frequently because they water trees with the lights still switched on. Other common Christmas injuries include burns and cuts sustained while preparing Christmas dinner,
while children frequently swallow baubles or small toy parts. Analysis of data from the US National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) also revealed that between 2007 and 2016, three children had attended hospital for injuries received “falling off Santa’s lap” and another injured herself running away from a Santa impersonator because she was scared. theguardian. com, 20 Dec 2023.
GETTING THEIR GOAT
Every Christmas, the village of Gävle in Sweden constructs a giant straw yule goat, despite it rarely surviving the season
(see FT338:6, 352:9). The first goat, built in 1966, was burned down on New Year’s Eve in the first of many arson attacks. In 2005, it was ignited with flaming arrows shot by two vandals, one dressed as Santa Claus and the other as a gingerbread man. It has also been run over by cars and beaten with clubs, and in 2010 someone attempted to bribe its guards and steal the whole thing with a helicopter. In nearly 60 years it has only survived unscathed 16 times. In 2023, it was beseiged by hungry birds. “This has never happened before,” said AnnaKarin Niemann, the goat’s spokesperson. It seems that the 2023 harvest season was particularly rainy and this made it difficult for farmers to separate the grain from the straw that was used to build the 13-metre (43ft) high goat. This made the structure very attractive to local bird life, with jackdaws and other birds roosting in the goat and ripping the straw apart to find tasty morsels, with the result, Niemann said, that “He looks a little bit uncombed or unkempt right now,” adding “but to me, of course, he’s still very handsome.” cbc.ca, 21 Dec 2023.
BARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING
Following a break prompted by the pandemic, the ‘Dogtivity’ organised by Busy Bee Dog Training in Jurby on the Isle of Man returned this Christmas. Started in 2019, the show featured dogs dressed as sheep, angels and wise men. According to dog trainer Debbie Martin it opens up the Christmas story to “a different audience” and proved a “massive hit”.
In the revived show three cockapoos played the roles of Mary, Joseph and the innkeeper, and baby Jesus was played by a crossbreed dog called Weasel. The “three wise dogs” were a Border collie, cocker spaniel and golden retriever wearing elaborate coats and crowns, while the angels, including a collie called Hector who played the Angel Gabriel, had wings and halos. The sheep were cairn terriers in fleecy coats and narration was provided by the pastor of Ramsey Baptist Church, Louise Strickett. BBC News, 15 Dec 2023.
It was ignited by vandals dressed as Santa Claus and a gingerbread man