Upside Down Christmas Tree

"The tradition of hanging a Christmas tree upside down from the ceiling is an old one in Central and Eastern Europe," according to Barbara Roleck writing in The Spruce.

"The first records of a tree being decorated date to the 1500s at Riga, Latvia. The early trees were a symbol of the Paradise Tree in the Garden of Eden and were decorated with food and flowers to denote abundance. Upside-down Christmas trees are common among many Slavic groups—Carpatho-Rusyns, Poles, Slovaks, and Ukrainians.

Legend has it that England's St. Boniface was furious when he saw pagans revering an oak tree in 7th-century Germany where he was teaching. He cut it down, but a fir tree sprang up on the same spot. Boniface used the triangular shape of this fir tree as a tool to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

The pagans who had been converted to Christianity began to revere the fir tree as God's Trinity Tree. By the 12th century, it was being hung upside down from ceilings at Christmastime in Central and Eastern Europe as a symbol of Christianity and God the Son becoming a man because it resembled the shape of Christ being crucified."

Call it stupid, ridiculous, absurd or laughable, but this ancient tradition can be pricey as well. Upside down Christmas Trees go anywhere from around one hundred dollars to $771 at Target, and higher! On the plus side, there's more room on the floor for gifts!