TURNING
CHRISTMAS UPSIDE DOWN

Topics: Advent; Christmas; Greed; Holidays; Materialism; Secularism

References: Isaiah 9:6–7; Matthew 1:22–24; Luke 1:1–20; 3 John 1

The Upside-Down Christmas Tree. That’s what Hammacher Schlemmer, a retail company based in New York, is currently offering for sale.

Standing at seven feet tall and prelit with over eight hundred commercial grade lights, this technological marvel can be yours for $599.95. But why would anyone want an upside-down Christmas tree? According to Hammacher Schlemmer’s website, “The inverted shape makes it easier to see ornaments, which hang away from the dense needles,” while “allowing more room for the accumulation of presents underneath.”

Other retail outlets are following suit, including ChristmasTreeForMe.com, which offers five- to seven-and-a-half-foot bizarro trees from $280 to $504. Even Target is getting in on the action, with upside-down trees ranging from $299 to $499 on its website. Target also claims that the trees “leave more room on the floor for gifts.”

—Andrew Hard, “Christmas on the Flip Side,” FoxNews.com (November 9, 2005)