Christmas tree draws crowd for all the wrong reasons. See it
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, December 6, 2016, 5:23 PM - It's old, crooked, spindly and spectators say it's even uglier in person.
Montreal's Christmas tree is a major symbol of the holiday season and with the city's 375th anniversary in 2017, organizers had plans to go big. This year's display was supposed to compete with New York's fabled Rockefeller tree, which usually averages at 22 metres tall.
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Located at Place des Arts, the Montreal tree stands at 28 metres. One would think the higher the better, but it seems it isn't living up to expectations.
Montreal's Christmas tree looks like it was just released from Xmas tree rehab and needs any spare change you might have for a bus ride home pic.twitter.com/DbcHdy28M6
— zak (@zaktebbal) December 6, 2016
From "embarrassing" to "it looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree," these are a few of the comments being shard on social media. This year's dud even has its own Twitter account: @sapinlaid, which translates to "ugly fir."
Is that a tree? I thought it was a sprig of rosemary. @TerryDiMonte @HeatherBackman #mtlxmastree
— Dan Laxer (@DanLaxerLive) December 6, 2016
Decorated in lights and Canadian tire logo ornaments, some say the tree is so unattractive that it's actually endearing.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I LUV our new ChristmasTree, its distinct unique & pure Montreal @PKarwatskyCTV @haleyryanmusic pic.twitter.com/NtW5qNLgBZ
— EMMANUELS MONTREAL (@ejock_emmanuel) December 6, 2016
However, the company who installed the tree is standing by it.
"What we delivered is a natural Quebec tree, as a Quebec tree should be," Sapin MTL co-founder Philippe Pelletier told reporters. "People have in mind that a Christmas tree should be perfect, but that's not the reality."
Maybe I"m wrong, but I kind of like the Xmas Tree @SapinLaid - it is very Montreal. We just stubbornly do our thing no matter how it looks.
— Michael Simonson (@Anthrage) December 6, 2016
WATCH BELOW: Tree 'breathes' with the wind