The annual Knut-fest is in full swing

A town in southern Germany has come up with a novel way to dispose of their old Christmas trees – by throwing them as far as they can.

Whilst throwing out your old tree is nothing new, throwing them is something altogether more original. Now that the festive season has drawn to a close, people living in the small town of Weidenthal are enjoying taking part in the World Christmas Tree Throwing Championship, or ‘Knut-Fest,’ as it is called locally.

Local residents remove all decorations and lights from their old Christmas trees and then enter them into the three Knut-Fest disciplines, which include ‘Weitwurf’ – javelin-style throwing, ‘Hammerwurf’ – hammer-style throwing – and ‘Hochwurf’ – high jump-style throwing.

The three distances are then added together and the overall Knut-Fest winner is the person who has thrown the longest distance in total over the course of the day.

Locals see Knut-Fest as an ideal way to bid farewell to the Christmas period whilst welcoming in the New Year with friends, alongside enjoying a healthy dose of competition.

Taking the title for a third year in a row – and swiftly becoming the King of the Knut-Fest in the process – was 48-year old Frank Schwender, who hails from the nearby town of Frankeneck. Schwender notched up an impressive total throwing distance of 11.45 metres across the three disciplines.

Talk about a throw away society!

Click here to view a video of the event.