First Decorated Christmas Tree

The first Christmas Tree was prepared for the holidays in Northern Europe. What we also found out was that the children in Europe believed there was a Santa Clause in Lapland in Finland while the children in North America looked forward to a visit from the Santa Clause who lived in the North Pole. Time ventured on and things changed and now the children in both Europe and North America dream of a jolly fat man dressed in red with a white beard laughing loudly ho, ho, ho.

First Christmas Tree

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, two Baltic states - Latvia and Estonia began decorating Christmas trees. Riga the capital of Latvia was the first city to enjoy decorated Christmas trees.

The House of Blackheads

Riga, Latvia saw the construction of a guild house called The House of the Blackheads. This was guild of German merchants who came from Lubeck Germany. Members of the guild were unmarried merchants and ship captains who belonged to Hanza cities. Their patron saint became St, Maurice. Since Saint Mauritius happened to be an imaginary black Moor from Africa the guild house was called the House of Blackheads. From around 1334 to 1939 the Brotherhood of the Blackheads was situated in Riga. In 1584 the members decorated the first Christmas tree beginning a winter tradition. Ribbon bouquets, dried flowers, straw dolls, and some fruit decorated the tree. When Christmas was over during the first week of January the Christmas tree was burned in the town square. In the period beginning with 1584 guilds started setting up Christmas trees in town squares in front of guildhalls. During wartime the House of Blackheads in Riga, Latvia was destroyed and was reconstructed to look just like the original in Town Hall Square. Every Christmas a decorated tree is set up in the square near the guildhall.

Northern European Pagans

A winter solstice known as Yule was celebrated by the pagans of Northern Europe. The symbol of the pagan Sun god Mithras was Yule and always observed on the shortest day of the year. One of the customs is to light a candle encouraging the sun god so the sun would appear in the following year. The word Yule means wheel which is a pagan symbol for the sun and Yule logs were burned to honor the sun. Considered to be a sacred plant Mistletoe became the plant that people kissed beneath as part of a fertility ritual. Holly berries were offered as a food to the gods.

St Boniface

The one definite thing uniting all Norther European winter solstices is the living tree. During hard, harsh winters live trees were brought into homes to remind the inhabitants there their crops would grow again once winter was over. The religious intelligentsia of their culture were the people who worked in the positions of clerical scholar, diviner, mystic, judge, and doctor. The trees were used as religious symbols for sacred ceremonies and were worshipped while people gathered around large bonfires. The Christmas tree in Christian lore is associated with St Boniface and the German town of Geismar. During the lifetime of St Boniface, he cut down a tree of Thor hoping to disprove the legitimacy of Norse gods to their local German tribe. In the roots of an old oak tree, Boniface saw a fir tree growing and saw this as a sign of Christian faith. He said that Christ should be the center of every household and the symbol of Christianity should be the fir tree.

Christmas Tree Symbolism

Christmas trees are symbols of happiness and hope which comes from pagan traditions looking at evergreen trees as symbols celebrating the renewal of life. The decorated Christmas tree can be a real fir tree or an artificial one. Unfortunately, commercialism has overshadowed Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Christ and bringing together families and friends. Putting aside shopping sprees let us return to joy and hope and love and make Christmas more a time of enjoying gathering together instead of exchanging mounds of presents. In past years Latvians would decorate their Christmas trees with homemade ornaments and small candles clipped to the branches

Today even though electric lights are available there are people who still prefer to see the little candles flickering upon their Christmas trees.

In Riga, Latvia you can see Christmas trees everywhere even by restaurants and pubs. But the main tree the one for all of Riga is the traditional tree set up in the Town Hall Square near The Blackhead Hall.

You can find a dome plaque in front of the guildhall, marking the site of the first Christmas tree ceremony. Today you can delight in many Christmas markets and other celebrations all over the city and warm up with hot mulled wine.