The Christmas tree debate used to center on whether you had an authentic “real” tree or a “fake” pre-made tree. A new debate has been sparked with a trending fad: the upside down Christmas tree. While this trend is now exploding in popularity, the origin is actually traced back to the Middle Ages when Europeans would display their trees in this manner to represent the Holy Trinity.

There are numerous benefits to an upside down Christmas tree. First of all, you definitely have uniqueness on your side! While the upside down Christmas tree is growing in popularity, it has hardly been adopted by the majority of people decorating for Christmas. Secondly, if you have an impressive ornament collection, having an upside down Christmas tree is a way in which your most impressive ornaments can be brought to eye level.

However, the most common place to find an upside Christmas tree will not be at your friends and family’s homes. Instead, many retail stores have adopted the trend. As mentioned above, it is a great way to show off ornaments (likely to be for sale in the same store), but perhaps more importantly, it is a great way to free up space to display merchandise! If you have ever watched an episode of Shark Tank, you would know that display space in a retail store is a premium and of the utmost importance in almost every business decision. Thus, stores can hang a tree upside down to generate buzz and get people talking, display items for sale more prominently, and free up perhaps their most valuable asset…space!