Tree Skirt - Cobalt Swirls Tree

There are many stories surrounding the origins of what we now consider the "Christmas tree". Some believe the tradition began with Martin Luther. It was around 1500 and he was out of an evening walk through snowy woods when he came upon a cluster of little evergreen trees. Their dark green, snow-covered branches sparkled like diamonds in the moonlight. Once he got back home, he was inspired to bring that beauty into his home. So, he cut a small fir tree and decorated it with candles in honor of Christ's birth. This tradition was rather slow to catch on. It was not until the 1900's that Christmas trees began showing up in homes on a more regular basis. It was the Great Depression that gave birth to modern Christmas tree farms. Landscaping was a luxury and evergreens, like everything else, just weren't selling. It was these landscape nurseries that came up with the idea of cutting the trees and selling them for Christmas. It's interesting to note that folks that would NOT have spent the money to have an evergreen planted in their yard willingly paid for the cut trees in celebration of the birth of Christ. Of course, over time, candles (which had to have been extremely dangerous) gave way to strings of multicolored Christmas lights. Each country and every religion that celebrates Christmas added another element to the tree: icicles, garland, ornaments of all shapes and sizes. This beautiful, computer-generated tree is comprised of cobalt curls and swirls and dots surrounded by several sizes of "ornaments" softened jewel tones: diamonds, turquoise, amethyst, aquamarine, emerald, sapphire. It's a more contemporary interpretation of a now well-established tradition. The computer dimensionalization gives depth and sheen to the blue of the tree while the "ornaments" are filled with a digital "glitter" for a little sparkle. This gorgeous design has been "pie-sliced" and kaleidoscoped for this stunning Christmas tree skirt. The history of the Christmas tree skirt is not decorative. Originally, the tree skirts were designed to catch dripping was from the candles illuminating the tree and to prevent any sap droplets from getting on the floor. Once the lights became electric and the trees were often artificial, the skirts became as decorative and detailed and embellished as desired. The rich blue "ribbon" in the original background graphic becomes a stunning border on this lovely Christmas tree skirt.