Christmas is
not a holiday in predominantly Buddhist Thailand, and its palm trees outnumber
pines, but the country still set a world record with its holiday spirit.
One of the
country's largest shopping malls arranged a publicity stunt involving 852
schoolchildren dressed in green and red hoodies to break the Guinness World
Record for the largest human Christmas tree. They outdid a German record of 672
participants in 2011.
To the relief
of parents, and the chagrin of a few teenagers, the children were not hoisted
onto a human pyramid shaped like a conifer.
It was more an
exercise in crowd control, grouping the assembled 6- to 15-year-olds into a
tree-like formation on the ground.
"I kind of
thought we'd get to stand on each other's shoulders," said 13-year-old
Nattakit Liewkulnattana. Like most participants at the event, he doesn't
celebrate Christmas. He wasn't sure whose birthday the holiday marks
("Santa Claus?") but was excited to take part in a world record, and
maybe get something in return.
"I want
presents!" the teen said. All participants got to keep their hoodies.
The record was
set in 15 minutes, 29 seconds.
Guinness
representative Fortuna Burke certified the feat, counting on a clicker as
children filed onto an outdoor verandah at Siam Paragon mall, the event's
organizer. Once in place, the children waved as a drone flew overhead to
capture aerial images.
Although
Christmas does not appear on Thai calendars and is a regular workday, hotels
and shopping malls decorate starting in mid-November for what is a big shopping
season during Thailand's peak tourism months.
Thais also set
other off-beat records this year. On Valentine's Day, a couple set a record for
longest kiss (58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds). Also in February, nearly
4,483 people swung hula hoops for seven minutes, a record for the most people
dancing with hula hoops simultaneously in one place.
BY JOCELYN GECKER (ASSOCIATED
PRESS) - miamiherald.com