Daily Lessons from Life 19 December 2010 - Most Expensive X'mas Tree

"Most expensive Christmas tree - Channel News Asia 19 December 2010

ABU DHABI - A luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi which unveiled a Christmas tree decorated with jewels valued at US$11 million has decided to put the record straight against criticism of having gone over the top.

The Emirates Palace hotel said it regretted "attempts to overload the tradition followed by most hotels in the country," it said, in a statement quoted in Gulf News on Sunday.

"Putting the Christmas tree... is a tradition meant to share in celebrating occasions guests hold while they are away from their home countries and families," said the hotel in the United Arab Emirates capital."

Honestly I am no longer surprised by the excesses by the oil-rich Middle Eastern countries. It is the greatest mystery to me why the Middle Eastern nations have not moved on to other worthy causes to spend or invest their riches beside piling on more and more extravagent shows that they have a lot of wealth?

Lessons for me are:

1. when you are rich and wealthy, it does not always means that you are intelligent and socially conscious!;

2. when you are not intelligent or socially conscious, you merely showed that you are rich and not if you are worthy of the wealth through your intelligence or whatever!;

3. X'mas is really a commercial venture as far as I am concerned and the religious flavour has been dampened for sure though I am also aware that millions celebrate X'mas with a lot of religious fervour still.

Any one-upmanship on who has the brightest or most expensive or most outlandish X'mas tree or X'mas demoration or whatever??

May X'mas be a merry one for you wherever you are and in whatever circumstances you may be in with about a week to go to 25 December 2010!!