USA: At the Heart to Heart Gift store, Christmas trees hang suspended from the ceiling

The holiday season is turned upside down in one New York shop. At the Heart to Heart Gift store, Christmas trees are turned wrong-side-up as they hang, suspended from the ceiling. Just like any ordinary Christmas tree, the upside down evergreens are decked to the hilt with ornaments, garland, and trinkets. But instead of the floor, these specially designed trees are rooted up above. Shop owner Rosemary Sayad said the inverted trees are catching on due to their various benefits. "Every year something comes out that everybody wants because it's new. And also I think people that live in apartments and have pets or children, it's away from them and they can't knock the tree down. And it's fun; it's pretty," she explained. The upside down trend is actually not new; it was tradition in 12th Century Europe. But a recent trend wave has the trees flipped up and pointing down. So far, Sayad's shop is the only New York store to turn their trees on end; something that garners her a lot of consumer attention. "Well, we have two reactions. Some people say, oh it's crazy, why upside down? Other people are in awe. They love it. They really love it," Sayad explained. Passer-by Carol Evans was not impressed by the hanging evergreen in the store window. "I suppose it's the modern trend, but I wouldn't myself; I'm a traditionalist. I prefer them the right way up. And where would you put the fairy, or the star?" wondered Evans. But for one little girl, Nicole Saya, the inverted tree has one important asset over its traditional rival. "You can put more presents under the tree. And it's upside down so you can stack the presents on top of each other until they reach the top," she said. And that just could be reason enough to turn any tree upside down.

ITN Source | November 17, 2005

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