A holiday display at a mall has been changed after customers expressed outrage about a high-tech theme.
Officials at Simon Malls have bowed to pressure and have made changes to their new space-age Santa display at The Westchester in White Plains. In the original version of the display, Santa Claus was sitting inside a glacier with no elves, reindeer or a Christmas tree. They say they were trying to create a glacier experience with interactive stations that included a simulation of the Aurora Borealis.
Many customers took to social media threatening to boycott the malls during the holiday season unless changes were made. "They've already taken the Christ out of Christmas. How much more do you want to take out of Christmas?" asked customer Sky Rodriguez.
By Sunday morning, a new display went up featuring reindeer, images from "The Nutcraker" and other more traditional Christmas decorations . The president of Simon Malls say they will continue to work on the display and that a Christmas tree and more elements will be added in the days ahead.
Simon Malls received similar complaints about their displays at other malls across the country, including Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island.