CSS background property

short- & longhand.

longhand

• background-color
  default: transparent (not inherited)
  values: set colour in either HEX or RGB
  CSS example:
  h1 { background-color: #ccc; }
h1 { background-color: rgb(204,204,204); }
• background-image
  default: none (not inherited)
  values: specify image via URL(relative to the CSS), or none
  CSS example:
  h1 { background-image: url(../images/texture.jpg); }
h2 { background-image: none; }
• background-repeat
  default: repeat (not inherited)
  values: repeat (tiled vertically and horizontally) / repeat-x (repeated horizontally) / repeat-y (repeated vertically) / no-repeat (displayed once only)
  CSS example:
  h1 { background-repeat: repeat; }
h2 { background-repeat: no-repeat; }
• background-attachment
  default: scroll (not inherited)
  values: scroll (scrolls with content) / fixed (remains in set position regardless of page scroll) / inherit (inherits behaviour of parent element)
  CSS example:
  h1 { background-attachment: fixed; }
• background-position
  default: scroll (not inherited)
  values: individual keywords (top/bottom/left/right) / set values (relative to containing box)
  CSS example:
  h1 { background-position: right bottom; }
h2 { background-position: 50% 20%; }

shorthand

For the sake of a short and minimal style sheet - you can, and should in most cases, of course use the shorthand code, combining all required properties into one singe line of code.

background
default: as individual properties
values in order: 
background-color background-image background-repeat background-attachement background-position
CSS example:
h1 { background: #ccc url(../images/decor.jpg) no-repeat fixed center bottom; }

CSS2.1 references

• ✫ Colors and Backgrounds - W3.org
• ✫ Background properties - westciv.com