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Reading Residents Say "Ugly" Christmas Tree Is Ruining Holiday Spirit

READING, Pa. (KDKA/AP) - A Christmas tree that might make Charlie Brown think twice is getting kicked to the curb a little early after residents of a Pennsylvania town complained it was too ugly.

Reading's spindly 50-foot spruce drew the ire of residents who said it was ruining their holiday spirit.

Now a group led by the city council president is raising money to buy and decorate a more impressive replacement.

"If there was a squirrel right now looking for a place to live in the winter, it wouldn't even go into that tree," resident Martin McNiel said.

The current tree is topped with a lighted pretzel, a nod to the area's many bakeries.

The puny pine was a last-minute stand-in taken from a city park.

readingtree

The city had planned to get its tree from a farm, but the owner wouldn't let the crews drive on the wet ground when they went to pick it up.

"I think some guy just said hey here's a tree, it's the right size, let's take this one, and didn't even think about it. Guys don't think about things like that," said resident Kathy Jastrzembski/

Officials are hoping to have a do-over tree lighting ceremony next weekend.

"There's people around the world serving our country that would be pleased to have a Christmas tree," said Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer.

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