Reading: No 'Charlie Brown' tree this year

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Tuesday, November 10, 2015
No Charlie Brown tree this year
Reading has a new Christmas tree that, unlike last year, will make residents proud

READING, Pa. (WPVI) -- A year after its scraggly "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree caused an uproar, a Pennsylvania city is putting up a more traditional tannenbaum this holiday season.

A 25-foot concolor fir now stands tall on Penn Square.

The tree stands in stark contrast to last year's sparse Norway spruce, which was ridiculed by some as being "embarrassing," "ugly," and "pitiful."

Drawing international attention, the tree was almost replaced before many chose to embrace it as a symbol of the true meaning of Christmas.

It was wrapped in a blue blanket around its base and adorned it with a single red ball to match the puny pine in the beloved TV special.

WFMZ-TV reports the 2015 tree will now be decorated in time for a lighting ceremony on Fri., Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. The event will include music, free hot chocolate and coffee, cookies and other surprises.

The ceremony will be followed by the annual holiday parade down Penn Street, starting at 9 a.m. on Sat., Nov. 21. This year's theme is "Holidays Around the World."