Squirrels delay Christmas lighting event

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BOSTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A money-saving effort in Braintree, Mass., went awry when squirrels chewed through wires on lights strung on four of eight Christmas trees, officials said.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan said the city left lights on the trees on the town hall mall last year to save the cost of taking them down and putting them back up, The Boston Herald reported.

The Christmas lighting ceremony scheduled for Sunday has been postponed until Dec. 12. Braintree is part of the Greater Boston area.

"We will have Christmas lights on the town hall mall, despite the squirrels' desire to thwart Christmas lights in Braintree," Sullivan said.

New decorations have been ordered and should arrive next week, the mayor said.

"We're not going to let the squirrels ruin our Christmas," Sullivan said.

He also said the decorations will be removed after Christmas so they won't become squirrel fodder.