'Tis the Season
Well folks, with the passing of Thanksgiving it appears that it is now time for Christmas. Not only has my favorite country radio station started "Nothing but Christmas until 2006," decorations mysteriously appear around every corner and the shopping season is nigh. (Don't go to the post office for fear of your life!)
This year brings a new trend:
O Tannenbaum, You're Upside-Down
By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 26, 6:04 AM ET
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Todd Brabender remembers the December nearly 20 years ago when he and some University of Kansas friends gathered around a Christmas tree hanging upside-down from a water pipe in his apartment. It seemed like such a crazy idea then. But not anymore.
The centerpiece of holiday decorating is more often being inverted — hung from the ceiling or mounted bottom-up on the wall — by those looking to save space, more prominently display pricey ornaments or simply distinguish their Christmas tree from so many millions of others.
Upscale retailer Hammacher Schlemmer sold out of its $599.95 pre-lit inverted tree, a 7-foot evergreen that rises from a weighted base, before the end of October. Online tree seller ChristmasTreeForMe.com has sold out of two of its four upside-down models. Tree importer Roman Inc. sold out, too.
"This has turned into a worldwide deal," said Bill Quinn, owner of Dallas-based ChristmasTreeForMe.
Odd as it may sound, the trend may have originated long ago. Legend has it that a seventh-century English monk went to Germany and used the triangular shape of the fir tree to explain the Christian belief in a Holy Trinity. Converts came to revere the fir and by the 12th century, the story goes, it was being hung from ceilings at Christmas.
"My suspicion is that the vast majority are buying them because they seem to be nontraditional," said Edward O'Donnell, an expert on Christmas traditions and history professor at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. "It's funny and it's off the wall. Or off the ceiling."
PS - Being an expert on Christmas traditions is now considered worthy of Professorship? Hmmm.....
This year brings a new trend:
O Tannenbaum, You're Upside-Down
By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 26, 6:04 AM ET
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Todd Brabender remembers the December nearly 20 years ago when he and some University of Kansas friends gathered around a Christmas tree hanging upside-down from a water pipe in his apartment. It seemed like such a crazy idea then. But not anymore.
The centerpiece of holiday decorating is more often being inverted — hung from the ceiling or mounted bottom-up on the wall — by those looking to save space, more prominently display pricey ornaments or simply distinguish their Christmas tree from so many millions of others.
Upscale retailer Hammacher Schlemmer sold out of its $599.95 pre-lit inverted tree, a 7-foot evergreen that rises from a weighted base, before the end of October. Online tree seller ChristmasTreeForMe.com has sold out of two of its four upside-down models. Tree importer Roman Inc. sold out, too.
"This has turned into a worldwide deal," said Bill Quinn, owner of Dallas-based ChristmasTreeForMe.
Odd as it may sound, the trend may have originated long ago. Legend has it that a seventh-century English monk went to Germany and used the triangular shape of the fir tree to explain the Christian belief in a Holy Trinity. Converts came to revere the fir and by the 12th century, the story goes, it was being hung from ceilings at Christmas.
"My suspicion is that the vast majority are buying them because they seem to be nontraditional," said Edward O'Donnell, an expert on Christmas traditions and history professor at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. "It's funny and it's off the wall. Or off the ceiling."
PS - Being an expert on Christmas traditions is now considered worthy of Professorship? Hmmm.....
posted by littledevilworks at 12:40 PM
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