On the 25 of December, every year, millions of people gather around their Christmas trees to open up presents, but the majority of them have no idea what Christmas tree means and where the tradition even started. Recently, people have decided to change the tradition of the traditional Christmas tree to an upside down christmas tree.
The Christmas tree is an evergreen tree that is either fake or real, and it is decorated in lights and ornaments to celebrate Christmas. The tradition first originated in the 16th Century in Germany and Livonia. The modern tradition of the Christmas tree goes back to Martin Luther to symbolize the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden. Tradition used to be that the Christmas tree was put up at the earliest two days before Christmas and taken down January 6th, but now in America, Christmas trees are put up soon after Thanksgiving and taken down anytime after Christmas. The most common tree found in homes is the fir and can be any of over a dozen types of fir tree. The artificial tree is also not a modern tradition. The earliest fake tree can be dated back to 19th century Germany because of the destruction of forests in Germany. The war over whether or not the traditional or the artificial tree is more harmful to the environment wages, but no clear winner exists. Flocking of trees (simulation of snow) was very popular in the 1940s and 50s especially in Western United States. Many people recently have tried to claim the separation of church and state when it comes to the Christmas tree and rename it the Holiday Tree, but many people refused this idea and never was supported. Each year nearly 40 million trees are produce in America which leads to about 1.5 Billion spent on trees.
While this new and awkward tradition may seem new and modern, it actually dates back to the Europeans during the Middle Ages. They used to hang fir trees upside down to celebrate the Trinity, but now the point of the tree points toward the sky, or heaven, and many people believe the upside down tree is disrespectful. Even though they started out as a way to save space and for stores to have more room to display more products, the idea has become one of the big trends. The prices of these trees are not expensive either, one that is already decorated can be found for under 500 which is surprisingly inexpensive. There are three ways for these trees to be displayed. The first way is the hang it from the ceiling, the second is to be put on a stand, and the third way to be displayed is to mount it onto a wall.
Overall, choosing to hang an upside down tree or a traditional tree is a decision that is many times made by tradition in some families, but no matter the choice the local christmas-tree-shop will have all of the supplies needed to make the tree beautiful and allow everyone to have a terrific holiday season.