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Icelanders frosty at Christmas tree snub

A proposal from Oslo's mayor to stop sending an annual Christmas tree to Reykjavik has sparked a furious reaction from Icelanders, many of whom have interpreted the move as a calculated snub.

Icelanders frosty at Christmas tree snub
The ceremonial cutting of a Christmas tree intended for London in 2009. Photo: Oslo City Council
"Fabian Stang, you have insulted an entire nation," Tomas Frosti Sæmundsson, an Icelander living in Norway, wrote on the website of Norway's Aftenposten newspaper. "I suggest you shove the tree up your whatever." 
 
Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang this month wrote to his Reykjavík counterpart Jon Gnarr suggesting that the 50-year-old tradition should be brought to an end and that instead of shipping a Christmas tree, Oslo should instead pay for one to be felled on Iceland itself. 
 
"In recent years we have had problems transporting the tree from Oslo to Reykjavik by ship," he wrote in the letter on April 7.  "This has encouraged us to investigate whether there are other ways of keeping this tradition alive."
 
He then suggests taking the tree from forests outside Reykjavik grown over the past 60 years with the assistance of Norwegian foresters. 
 
"We wonder whether it might be possible to find the Christmas tree from Oslo to Reykjavik in Iceland," he wrote.  "If the tree could be found and harvested in Iceland , the gift would also be more environmentally friendly than it is today." 
 
A report by the secretariat of Oslo's city council estimated that stopping shipping the tree would save some 180,000 kroner ($30,000). 
 

However, the proposal triggered a somewhat frosty reaction from Gnarr. 
 
"Sad. But what has Iceland ever done for Norway?" the mayor, a former punk musician, wrote on his Facebook page. "Well, we wrote their story and Heimskringla was the foundation for the independence of Norway in 1905. But who cares about some old books anyway?" 
 
Relations between Iceland and Norway were already testy after talks over mackerel quotas broke down in March, making Norway an easy target for Icelandic politicians. 
 
Oslo also plans to end the even more expensive tradition of sending a tree to Rotterdam, which has to be first shipped to London, then transferred to another boat for the trip to Rotterdam, by which time it normally looks a little tired and worn. 
 
"Transporting the tree from Oslo to Rotterdam has been problematic in recent years, and the tree has ended up not looking good," Strang wrote in a letter to his Rotterdam counterpart Ahmed Aboutaleb on April 7. "It has come to my attention that last year’s tree was missing several branches at the bottom. We feel that this is embarrassing." 
 
He suggested instead sourcing the Rotterdam tree from the Ardennes forest, where Amsterdam gets its own Christmas tree. 
 
Stang has stressed, however, that Oslo is committed to continuing to send a tree to London. 
 
"The London tree is a central part of Norway's history and a symbol of friendship with the British that we will do everything in our power to continue," he told Aftenposten. 
 
Below is a cartoon from Iceland's Morgunbladid newspaper summing up how people in Rekyjavik are interpreting Stang's suggestion. 
 
 

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ROME

‘Intolerable spectacle’: Rome council takes months to remove fallen tree

Rome’s city council has finally removed a fallen tree from a residential street near the city centre, weeks after it first fell.

'Intolerable spectacle': Rome council takes months to remove fallen tree
Screenshot from Il Messaggero video interview with Rome resident Dacia Maraini

The tree, which stood on the corner of Via Beccaria and Via Vico near Piazza del Popolo, was toppled during a storm two months ago and lay there until yesterday morning.

Writer and local resident Dacia Maraini said she made numerous telephone calls and emails to the city council and to its Department of Environmental Protection, but did not receive a response.

It was not until the Rome-focused daily newspaper Il Messaggero published her complaint on Monday that action was taken.

Maraini told Il Messaggero that the tree was surreptitiously removed during the night on Monday, and she woke to find the street cleared.

Maraini’s neighbours were thrilled at the result and congratulated her on her efforts.

READ ALSO: Rome residents paint potholes to alert cyclists and shame authorities after woman's death

“Everyone I ran into said thank goodness you did that, thank you, thank you,” she said.

But Maraini herself was less happy.

“Of course I am very pleased that they have cleared the pavement, but it is sad to think that you have to publicly denounce them in a newspaper in order to get something that should be part of the normal service in this city,” Maraini told the paper.

“Many passersby had begun throwing their trash in the tree – there were plastic bags, cigarettes, paper packing, old sandwiches,” she said.

“A pile of waste like that attracts mice, cockroaches, dirty animals.”

Maraini said she has not been contacted by the municipality.

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