Where Is Your Tree Pointing?

USA Today reports that the latest Christmas fad, for better or worse, is upside-down Christmas trees. The "Walmart-wannabe", Target Stores, whose last notable Christmas related decision was to ban Salvation Army bell ringers, has jumped on the bandwagon:

. . . Target has three such upside-down trees ($299.99-$499.99) on its website, touting their best attribute: "Leaves more room on the floor for gifts!"

At least they haven't forgotten about the true meaning of Christmas - spend more money at Target. The USA Today article continues:

Sheryl Karas, author of The Solstice Evergreen: The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree , isn't quite sure what's going on with the resurgence of upside-down trees, a 12th-century tradition in Central Europe.

Karas believes it's purely a decorative thing this time around, a way to better display ornaments so they don't get lost in the foliage. She doesn't want to put a damper on the holidays, but she suspects "there's something sinister, almost bad, about it."

Because the shape of the tree is symbolic (pointing to heaven), "if they thought about it, they wouldn't turn it upside down," she says.

I've thought about it and I think this is one fad that I'll avoid.

[HT: WorldMagBlog]


UPDATE:
In fairness to Target, I thought that I should mention that their website has a link Salvation Army Donations: Target/Salvation Army Wish List

You can select items on the wish list for a particular region or make a cash donation.