3. The legend of the Christmas tree

Very few people know that the earliest found evidence of the first decorated Christmas Tree was about Christmas Tree in Riga. More than 500 years ago, back in 1510 the German traders decorated an evergreen tree at their home. Several years ago Riga Council built a plaque next to the House of Blackheads on former Market Square to memorialize it.

History of the First Christmas Tree

Riga, having been more at the center of social and religion a bit longer, was a stopover for pilgrims early on. This is another indicator that the Christmas celebration customs may have originated in Riga first as well.

It is believed that the tradition of decorating Christmas trees originated in Riga, Latvia. To mark the special occasion, in 2010 Latvia celebrated the 500th anniversary of this festive tradition that now spans across the world.

Nowadays there still persists a slight disagreement between Latvia and Estonia as for the birthplace of Christmas tree. It is known however that the tradition began at around 15th century in Livonia (currently the territory of Latvia and Estonia) and by 16th century it had spread to Northern Germany.

Although it remains unknown where exactly the first Christmas tree was installed, the first documented use of a tree in a winter Christmas celebration is the one in Riga Town Hall Square in 1510. The Christmas tree was decorated with paper flowers, ribbons, dry flowers, straw dolls and possibly also with fruit. After the ceremony the Christmas tree was burnt

But, little is known about the original Riga tree other than the fact that it was attended by men wearing black hats, and that after a ceremony, they burnt the tree. The legend says that the first Riga tree in 1510 was decorated with paper flowers and burnt on the bonfire after the ceremony.

All of this may have been a mixture of pagan and Christian custom, as were very many of the customs in Central/Northern Europe at that time. In Latvia as in all of northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun as a part of pagan activities where people were living their life as they had done for hundreds of years before.

It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.

In the past, there have been stories about Martin Luther walking in the woods near Riga and he created the first Christmas Tree. But actually, the Riga tree reference and the Martin Luther Tree reference are two different occurrences.

The Martin Luther walk in the forest, believed to actually in Northern Germany and his lighted tree actually occurred several decades later.

According to an email we received from Countess Maria Hubert von Staufer from Christmas Archives International, references to the Martin Luther tree were NOT the Riga tree. The Countess goes on to say that The Martin Luther walk in the forest, is believed to actually occurred in Northern Germany and his lighted tree occurred several decades later than the Riga tree. the Countness went on to state that "Riga is very important in the History of the Christmas Tree".

The Story of the Christmas Tree... ... and how it all began in Riga, Latvia, 500 years ago!

A well-known guild in Riga in 1510 was the Brotherhood of the Blackheads; an association of unmarried merchants, ship's owners and captains. Their name comes from their Patron Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, Mauritius). He was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rdC and one of the favourite and most widely venerated saints of that group. As the Patron Saint of several professions, locales and kingdoms, he was also a highly revered saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church and also a Black Christian from Thebes, Egypt.

The Blackheads were very active in civic life, supporting various events and donating money to the church and city. As the Winter Solstice approached in 1510, the men of the brotherhood went into the forest to find the biggest fir tree they could, planning to set the tree on fire on the banks of the Daugava River, Riga, thus supplementing the age-old tradition of burning a log around the solstice.

The brethren found an enormous fir tree, but when they got it back to Riga, they decided it was too big to burn, because it that would endanger surrounding buildings and people. The men returned to their building for a thorough debate about the matter and the discussion lasted well into the afternoon.

Meanwhile, local children found the tree on the banks of the river, wondered how it had gotten there and agreed it was a special tree, indeed. They were so excited they began to decorate the tree with anything that came to hand; there were nuts and apples, chains and crowns of dried berries and flowers, children even unraveled their mittens for the colourful yarn. They were so enthusiastic, they didn't notice that the materials needed to decorate the enormous tree were increasing in quantity all by themselves! When it started to get dark out, the children said goodbye to the tree and ran home to get warm and tell their families about what they'd found.

It was nearly dark when the Blackheads ended their meeting....without a decision. One of the tradesmen went down to the river and saw, from a distance, the miraculous transformation of the tree. The decorations left by the children were covered in silvery frost and the fir tree sparkled in the moonlight. He knew what to do and he brought his brethren to see the tree for themselves. They were amazed, and so it was decided to install the tree in the city centre and decorate it for Christmas. "This will be a Christmas tree."

The tree was brought to the central market square of the city, where City Hall Square is now. It was raised to stand as if it were back in the forest. The decorations left by the children were supplemented with ribbons, toys and ornaments and the tree was blindingly beautiful. It was a celebration, in and of itself. When the men of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads began to add decorations to the tree, people came out of their houses and were surprised. They told each other that the fir tree had transformed itself miraculously and soon enough the legend buzzed all around the town. People came running with decorations for the tree and once the work was done, everyone was astonished at the tree's beauty. "This is a Christmas tree - a gift which we should use to bring joy to each other at Christmas," said one of the Blackheads. 

Well, that's the story. Christmas trees have lasted to this very day and outside the House of the Blackheads, there is a memorial plaque commemorating the idea that Riga was where the first Christmas tree was decorated, 500 years ago. This is how the story about the first decorated Christmas tree in Riga ends, but it surely marks the beginning of a festive tradition that spans around the globe. The magic can still be found in every house.

"The Christmas Tree is a symbol of hope and happiness and stems from pagan traditions that the Evergreen tree is a symbol of the celebration of the renewal of life. Throughout the world, the celebration of Christmas with the display of a decorated Christmas Tree has large significance well beyond the economic shopping sprees made famous throughout the United States and other wealthy countries."