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.
[Associated
Press; JOCELYN GECKER]
Associated Press
writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.
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