It must be a sign of the times. An insurance company is claiming that there was a sharp rise in Christmas tree related injuries in 2020. So, 2020 has been a disaster. What else is new? But this is apparently true. LendingTree’s insurance comparison resource ValuePenguin is claiming there's been a 122% rise in injuries compared to 2019. That's 1 in 5 Americans, according to this report.

This year, 20% of respondents said they've been injured while putting up a Christmas tree. A previous survey conducted by ValuePenguin found that 9% of people said they were injured by their trees.

The study also finds that fewer women than men were hurt putting up their trees, and that younger people were far more likely to hurt themselves in these instances. The latest study found that 27% of Gen Z people and 24% of Millennials said they’ve been hurt by their trees, compared to just 5% of Baby Boomers. Well, that should result in quite a lecture from mom and dad at the dinner table this Christmas. What is going on here?

But another thing fueling this injury induced generation gap is that younger people were more likely to put up a real tree versus their parents, according to the numbers. Many who select a real tree say they do it for the experiences. Of course, chopping down a tree, and then carrying it into your home for assembly can greatly increase the risk for injuries. Why are we getting a mental image of Clark Griswold all of a sudden? Maybe some sort of wild animal jumped out and latched on to their face? Fake trees cause less mess and hassle, and the study found Boomers were far more likely to go fake over real in this case.

One potential cause for injuries when it comes to Christmas trees is fire, and it may surprise you how many people leave their Christmas tree lights on overnight. The survey actually found that 75% of its respondents leave their Christmas lights on overnight.

Why have there been specifically so many more injuries in 2020 versus last year? The survey didn't go into too much detail, though one has to wonder if more people being home more often than in years past could be increase the risk for injury? Maybe they're burying their sorrows in a bottle of something strong while they put up their trees, and that gets them hurt? One has to wonder.

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