Splintered Wishing Tree

'Twas an ill-fated orange that broke the branch's back.

From AFP:

A Hong Kong tree that according to legend is imbued with lucky powers proved unlucky for two people when part of it collapsed on them.

A huge branch from the city's famous Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree fell on a 62-year-old man and a four-year-old boy as they were making Chinese New Year wishes ...

[ ... ]

... the branch had been overburdened by traditional wishing tokens, comprised of slips of paper tied to oranges.

Undeterred, some Hong Kongers continued to hurl their oranges onto the remaining branches. FEHD workers cleared the fruit after the mishap.

Thousands of people flock to the tree in the northern rural Lam Tsuen village to throw their wishes for the Chinese New Year into its branches.

Ancient folklore has it that if an orange hooks onto the tree's branches, the wish written on the slip of paper will come true.

The legend of the tree is more than 100 years old. It began when a man worshipped at the ancient banyan tree and wished his slow-learning son would become an excellent scholar. Soon afterward the boy's academic achievements improved, and word spread.

Since then, the tree has been a favourite destination.

The tree's collapse is the latest incident in which traditional Chinese rituals have clashed with modern safety regulations in Hong Kong.

Fireworks and firecrackers have been banned since 1967.

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