M. Furuholmen (A-Ha) Decorates Tree With Money

OSLO, Norway (Afenposten Newspaper) - Money may not grow on trees, but a Christmas tree decorated with cash was irresistibly ripe for a Yuletide harvest.

Magne Furuholmen, part of the Norwegian pop group A-Ha, was given 14,000 kroner- the equivalent of $1,920 - by Norway's national railroad to decorate a tree for display outside the Oslo Central Station.

The singer-songwriter decided to make the decorations out of the cash as a reminder of the commercialism of Christmas.
"I got 14,000 kroner as a fee for decorating the tree any way I wanted to, so I took it literally," Furuholmen said. "If anyone steals the money, I hope it is someone who really needs it," he told the Oslo newspaper Afenposten.

The tree and its cash decorations were hoisted up the facade of the station Sunday. The height didn't prove to be much of a deterrent - someone climbed a ladder before dawn Wednesday and stripped everything but a few coins from the tree.