SouthPark mall changes course, will have Christmas tree after all

After hearing “feedback” from customers, SouthPark mall reversed itself and announced Saturday it will include a traditional Christmas tree in its holiday display after all.

In a tweet Saturday, the mall said, “We're adding key elements to the Santa set this week & listening to our customer feedback, we will now include a traditional Christmas tree.”

The mall previously announced that when children visit Santa Claus at SouthPark this year, they’d be doing it under a faux glacier, rather than a Christmas tree.

The shopping center said the change would make the Santa-visiting experience “fresh and exciting.”

But people quickly took to social media to complain about the replacement of a traditional Christmas symbol. By Saturday night, more than 19,600 people signed a Change.org petition to bring back the Christmas tree at SouthPark.

Joe Marusak and Katherine Peralta

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 7:10 PM with the headline "SouthPark mall changes course, will have Christmas tree after all."