rich's-macy's tree snaps on site

Could this be the work of the ghost of founder Morris Rich, displeased that the company he worked so hard to build has been homogenized and turned into just another store?

Could it be a sign that retailers are putting up Christmas decorations too early?

Probably not. But this is a little weird. From WXIA-TV, NBC affiliate in Atlanta

Rich's-Macy's Tree Snaps on Site

A 72-foot Christmas tree snapped Saturday as it was hoisted atop the Rich’s-Macy’s department store at Lenox Square mall in Buckhead.

“We had a beautiful 72-foot white pine all tied and ready to hoist up to get it ready for Thanksgiving night and we heard the sound we never want to hear – crack!,” said Rich’s-Macy’s spokesperson Ellen Fruchtman.“We’re regrouping to get a new tree up in time for Thanksgiving,” she said.

Rich’s-Macy’s spokesperson Ellen Fruchtman says the white pine was being lifted to the store’s roof for the company’s 57th annual Christmas tree lighting in Atlanta when it snapped.

“There was a weak spot in the trunk of the tree, apparently,” Fruchtman said.“We never expect this to happen, but we do plan for this contingency so we always have other trees on tap,” she said.

“What we’ll do is go tie and cut a new tree and have it up here.”

She says the last time the Macy’s tree broke in Atlanta was in the late-70s at the company’s downtown location.