As some might have noticed, I'm on something of an oddball Christmas news binge.

I'm not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with the time of year.

Anyway, more inside.

From the BBC:

Kyrgyzstan to name peak after Santa

The government hopes some Santa publicity will boost tourism

Kyrgyzstan is to name one of its mountains in honour of Santa Claus.

A group of Kyrgyz mountaineers will climb the appointed peak on Christmas Eve as part of an official ceremony.

The move comes after a Swedish logistics company suggested the Central Asian nation was the most logical place for Santa to deliver presents from.

Kyrgyzstan has been working to boost its tourism industry and the authorities have spotted what could be a good opportunity.

From the BBC:

'Santa cops' on patrol in Manila

The police hope the hats will bring them closer to the public

Police officers wearing Father Christmas hats have been on patrol in the Philippine capital, Manila.

Officials say the festive police force is being deployed in busy shopping areas to "maintain the peace" in the run up to Christmas.

The police are hoping that the move will bring them closer to the public.

Residents are reported to be mostly in favour of the idea, as long as the officers continue to carry out their police work.

From the BBC:

'Healthy' Santa spurns fat suit

Santa, Bill Winton, has refused to wear a pillow under his suit Enlarge Image

A health-conscious Santa is refusing to wear a pillow under his suit as he believes it promotes child obesity.

Bill Winton, 80, said children traditionally viewed Father Christmas as a chubby role model and grow up thinking it is fine to be overweight.

The former pipe coater said he was spurred into action after noticing children sitting on his knee had become heavier over the years.

The 12-stone Santa is at Westside Plaza Shopping Centre in Edinburgh.

Here's a Reuters round-up: (I covered off Santa getting shot at in Rio)

The acting U.S. surgeon general said a thinner Santa would be a better role model for kids in a land battling obesity.

A British shopping centre ordered its Santas to attend a month-long boot camp with exercises before greeting children.

In the season of mass consumption, going green can win brownie points.

In Hong Kong, environmentalists are not amused, arguing that all the glittering neon Santas and rainbows of flashy lights are devouring too much electricity and blocking the night sky.

But, in sharp contrast, a Japanese aquarium decided on a novel way to save energy -- it used electrodes from an electric eel's tank to light up its Christmas tree.

A burst of political correctness backfired at (BBC) Radio 1 which cut the word "faggot" from the old Christmas hit "Fairytale of New York" by Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues. The ban was dropped after a flood of protests.

In one of the most bizarre of festive tales, a Canadian man said he sold his son's video game*, a prized Christmas gift, on eBay after catching him smoking marijuana.

* Not just any video game: Guitar Hero! :) It went for $9,000.

And it's that time of year for the Jerusalem Syndrome.

Police have set up a special unit in the city sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians to deal with the minority of tourists each year who believe they are characters from the Bible. Hospitals have special wards to treat wayward travellers.

Palestinian carpenter Tawfiq Salsaa has come up with a Christmas bestseller -- a nativity scene carved with a wall between the baby Jesus and the three wise men.

"I wanted to give the world an idea of how we live in the Holy Land," he said. Israel's West Bank barrier is a hated symbol of occupation for Palestinians.

In Singapore, vets gave Asian elephants Tun and Jamilah the perfect Christmas gift -- specially made waterproof boots to relieve chronic foot lesions.

And cheeky Australian thieves stole 16 tonnes of ham and bacon from a Sydney warehouse and then wrote "Thanks. Merry Christmas" on a wall.

But surely the prize for the most bizarre Christmas charity gift must go to the International Rhino Foundation -- an auction of rhino dung from zoos across the United States.

Despite the exhaustive round-up, Reuters missed Santa getting groped. I've lost faith in them as a news organization. :)