In a move that seemed to be severely lacking in holiday cheer, Norway's largest newspaper almost canceled Christmas when a solemn, minimalist obituary for Santa Claus was published on Aftenposten's website. According to the obit, Santa died Dec. 3 and had lived to 227 years old, reported News24.
The obituary said he passed away after a long and active life, and would be buried at the Chapel of the North Pole. He was born Dec. 12, 1788, and died in Nordkapp, Norway's most northern point, said MetroUK.
The newspaper is reportedly unsure of who posted the obituary and how it slipped through its editorial system's cracks. Though the prank was largely harmless, Aftenposten announced it will "review its internal processes to establish what went wrong."
"Aftenposten has strict guidelines for both the content and use of symbols in our obituaries. This ad is a violation of these and should never have been published," said editor Hakon Borud, according to France24.
Once discovered, the obituary was removed from the website, and it never made it into the day's print issue, luckily for Norweigian children all over the country, according to MetroUK.
