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Christmas trees are generally put up from 24th December to 6th January. They are triangular shaped and... Is this a law that needs to be strictly followed? Perhaps not. Christmas trees are no longer just a symbol of Christianity but a “product” in the era of consumerism. So, now we can put up trees whenever they are available in the market and can hang them in an upside down position.
People have already started liking the topsy-turvy Christmas trees. These kind of trees are popularly known as “inverted trees”. They were in high demand during the last Christmas shopping season. The trend started in 2003. Customers are very happy with the new product as they can see the ornaments better because they don't get hidden behind the branches.
It would be wrong to claim this trend a modern one. Puritans are quite furious with whatever is going on to secularize Christmas. The argument is – the tip of the Christmas tree should point towards the Heaven but in this case it is pointing towards Hell. Hence, the upside down position is sacrilegious. The liberals give out a powerful counter argument on this issue. Why the same trend was not considered sacrilegious in 7th century? Yes, here we have a big question mark. A monk from Devonshire traveled to Germany with a triangular shaped fir tree to spread the message of The Holy Trinity of God, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. Almost in every houses the trees were hanged upside down from the ceiling as a sign of Christianity for the next five centuries.
The Middle age trend faded away under the influence of conservatism. But one should not forget that present is always a reflection of the past. The inverted trees are generally artificial ones. The question is why it is becoming so popular?
The shopkeepers are happy as the inverted trees take a little space and so they can be well accommodated in departmental stores. Moreover they are free from fire hazards. The customers are also going for artificial inverted trees as they can be used for years and are definitely less expensive. In modern days men cannot devote much time and energy on nurturing the Christmas trees. The artificial trees need not to be pampered. Even children get the scope of decorating them with bigger gifts and ornaments which generally do not go well with natural trees. As the lower portion of the inverted Christmas tree is spacious, so the gifts are well displayed.
They are popularly called “holiday trees” in U.S. And Canada to give the essence of winter holiday season without any religious connotation. The conservatists have attacked the men of “war on Christmas” on this score. Common men are not sure whether inverted trees are sacrilegious or not. In order to avoid the controversy many of them are buying the inverted Christmas trees along with the so called traditional ones as the second option. The store keepers are getting tired to meet the increasing demands of the public. All these prove Christmas tree is no longer a religious icon but a consumer product which has been modified to suit the temperament of modern life.
People have no problem with the stars pointing down to Hell as long as they are aesthetically conceived. The Christmas market gets ready with the new trend of Christmas trees by late October and 2005 witnessed a high sale of the same. The shopkeepers predict a high demand for this year also. Are we really becoming secular? Or we are going back to 7th century trend? History is in favor of the inverted trees. Let's not fight over the issue and accept the fact that inverted trees carry both the pagan and religious connotations with it just like the other decorative items. The aim is to make it more aesthetic and convenient for the time.
Sean Carter writes on holidays, Christmas and world events. He also writes on family, relationships, Thanksgiving, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry and writes for 123greetings.com He also writes blogs on Christmas Blogspot |
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