the article [must be] used or displayed principally during that festive occa-
sion.” More recently, the Court of International Trade reiterated that: “’fes-
tive articles’ must be ‘closely associated with a festive occasion’ to the degree
that the ‘physical appearance of an article is so intrinsically linked to a
festive occasion that its use during other time periods would be aberrant.”
Michael Simon Design, Inc. v. United States, 20 Ct. Int’l Trade 1160 at 1165,
452 F. Supp. 2d. 1316 at 1323 (2006), citing Park B. Smith, 347 F.3d at 928.
The instant wreath features a prominent display of red and green poinset-
tia leaves, which CBP has recognized as a Christmas motif. See HQ 950999,
dated April 16, 1992, and HQ 951520, dated October 31, 1992. See also
Wilton Industries, Inc. v. United States, 493 F. Supp. 2d 1294, 1332 (Ct. Int’l
Trade 2007)(in which the court noted Customs’ recognition of poinsettia as a
Christmas motif). This decision is consistent with NY N027778, dated May
21, 2008, in which we classified a green poinsettia wreath in subheading
9505.10, HTSUS. Accordingly, the wreath meets the first prong of the Park
B. Smith criteria. You have stated that the wreath is “intended as a holiday
decoration for the Christmas season”, and because the poinsettia leaves are
featured so prominently in relation to the twig backing, display of the deco-
rative wreath outside the Christmas season would be “aberrant”. Michael
Simon Design, Inc., 20 Ct. Int’l Trade at 1165. In your submission, you stated
that at the end of January, any remaining wreaths are discarded. You also
indicated that the wreath at issue was tagged with Jo-Ann Fabric’s “Holiday
Inspiration” brand label, which is red and green and is only used for Christ-
mas items. The second prong of Park B. Smith is thus satisfied.
Heading 9505 provides for “festive, carnival or other entertainment” ar-
ticles. We must then determine if the instant wreath, which we recognized as
festive, is a member of the festive “class or kind.” To do this, we apply the
factors delineated in United States v. Carbordum Co., 63 C.C.P.A. 98, 536
F.2d 373 (1976). See Midwest of Cannon Falls, 20 Ct. Int’l Trade 123 at 129.
The Court of International Trade noted that “[i]n applying the [Carborun-
drum] factors, no single factor is determinative, and none of these are in-
tended to be requirements for coming within any particular heading. Ibid. In
Carborundrum, the court listed factors to be used to determine whether
imported merchandise falls within a particular class or kind. The factors
include: “the general physical characteristics of the merchandise, the expec-
tation of the ultimate purchaser, the channels, class or kind of trade in which
the merchandise moves, the environment of sale (i.e., manner in which the
merchandise is advertised and displayed). Carborundrum, 536 F.2d at 377.
The pertinent factors, i.e., the physical characteristics of the wreath, the
channels of trade in which the article moves in, and the environment of sale,
show that the wreath is principally used as a festive item. The wreath’s most
noticeable characteristic is the Poinsettia artificial foliage. As we stated
above, Poinsettia is traditionally associated with the Christmas season. Both
the channel of trade and the environment of sale in which the wreath is
offered indicate that the wreath at issue is marketed, sold, and displayed as
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