Tree just needs a little love

READING

- A Pennsylvania city is fully embracing the Charlie Brown-esque Christmas tree it once rejected.

Officials in Reading are planning a Charlie Brown Day festival Dec. 20 to celebrate and spruce up the city's scrawny, 50-foot Norwegian pine.

The Reading Eagle reported yesterday that city officials hope to attract visitors who have followed the tree's saga.

The city still plans to decorate the tree Saturday with a single red bulb - just like the scrawny tree in the "Peanuts" holiday tale. More decorations will be added, echoing efforts by Charlie Brown's friends in "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Officials tried replacing the tree after residents complained, but ran into logistical programs and decided to keep it.

- Associated Press