Ancient Origins: Evergreens Before Christmas
Long before Christianity, ancient peoples held special reverence for evergreen plants. While other trees lost their leaves and appeared to "die" in winter, evergreens remained vibrant — symbolizing eternal life, resilience, and hope for spring's return.
Ancient Egyptians
Decorated homes with green palm rushes during winter solstice to celebrate the sun god Ra's recovery
Romans (Saturnalia)
Decorated temples and homes with evergreen boughs for the December festival honoring Saturn
Celtic Druids
Hung evergreen branches to ward off evil spirits and illness during the dark winter months
Vikings
Associated evergreens with their sun god Baldur and believed they represented eternal life
When Christianity spread through Europe, church leaders strategically placed Christmas on December 25th — close to winter solstice festivals — and gradually incorporated evergreen symbolism into the Christian narrative. What once represented pagan sun worship was reinterpreted as Christ, the "light of the world."
🏆 The Great Christmas Tree Rivalry
Which city had the first Christmas tree? The debate continues...
🇪🇪 Tallinn, Estonia
Town Hall Square
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia
House of Blackheads
Both cities claim to have hosted the first decorated Christmas tree, set up by the "Brotherhood of Blackheads" — a guild of unmarried merchants, ship owners, and foreigners in medieval Livonia. Historical records confirm both trees existed, were decorated, danced around, and then ceremonially burned. Today, both cities proudly display commemorative plaques and continue the friendly rivalry!
Timeline: How Christmas Trees Conquered the World
Byzantine Tree-Lights
Emperor Anastasios I commissions brass trees with 180 lamps each for a Syrian monastery — arguably the earliest tree-shaped Christmas decorations in Christian history.
Tallinn's First Tree
The Brotherhood of Blackheads erects a decorated tree in the town square. Young men dance around it with maidens before setting it ablaze — the earliest specific record of a Christmas tree.
Riga's Rival Claim
Riga's Brotherhood of Blackheads records their own decorated tree. Historian Balthasar Russow describes celebrations with singing, dancing, and burning.
First Indoor Tree
A small tree decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers" is recorded in a guild hall — the first documented indoor Christmas tree.
Strasbourg Tradition
An anonymous diary records: "At Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlours and hang on them roses cut from many-coloured paper, apples, wafers, gilt, and sugar."
Arrives in America
Hessian soldiers stationed during the American Revolution introduce Christmas trees to North America. The tradition slowly spreads through German immigrant communities.
Queen Victoria's Tree
The Illustrated London News publishes an engraving of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and children around a decorated tree. Christmas trees become fashionable overnight.
Electric Lights
Thomas Edison's partner Edward H. Johnson creates the first electrically-lit Christmas tree with 80 hand-wired bulbs. The age of the "Christmas light" begins.
White House Tradition
President Calvin Coolidge lights the first National Christmas Tree on the White House lawn, establishing an annual American tradition.
Famous Legends & Stories
The Martin Luther Legend
According to popular legend, 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther was walking through the forest one winter night when he was struck by the beauty of stars twinkling through the evergreen branches. He cut down a small tree, brought it home, and placed lit candles on its branches to recreate the starlight for his family. While historians debate the accuracy, this story helped legitimize trees as a Protestant (rather than pagan) tradition.
🇩🇪 Germany, c. 1536The Paradise Tree
Medieval German mystery plays performed on December 24th (Adam and Eve's feast day) featured a "Paradise Tree" — a fir decorated with apples representing the Garden of Eden. Since real apple trees were bare in winter, evergreens served as substitutes. This theatrical prop eventually moved into homes, where apples evolved into the red ornaments we use today.
Medieval GermanyThe Christmas Pyramid
Before trees became dominant, Germans built wooden pyramids (Weihnachtspyramiden) decorated with candles, evergreen branches, and a star. These "Christmas lights" were combined with Paradise Trees to create the modern decorated Christmas tree — explaining why stars or angels often top trees (from the pyramid) and why we use lights (from the candles).
Germany, 16th-18th CenturyThe Christmas Spider
Ukrainian legend tells of a poor widow who couldn't afford to decorate her Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, her children awoke to find the tree covered in spiderwebs that sparkled like silver and gold in the morning light. This legend is why tinsel was invented and why Ukrainians consider spiderwebs on Christmas trees to be good luck.
🇺🇦 UkraineThe Victorian Revolution
While Christmas trees existed for centuries, they remained largely a German tradition until 1848. That year, the Illustrated London News published an engraving of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (who was German-born) gathered with their children around a decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle.
The image went viral by Victorian standards. The beloved royal couple made Christmas trees instantly fashionable across Britain, America, and throughout the British Empire. What had been a regional German custom became a global phenomenon within a generation.
📰 The Power of Media
The 1848 illustration was actually based on an 1840 image — but an earlier publication in a ladies' magazine had little impact. It took the mainstream Illustrated London News (and strategic edits that made Albert look more English) to transform public perception. This might be history's first viral marketing success!
Modern Christmas Trees
Today, an estimated 350 million real Christmas trees are grown on farms worldwide each year. In the United States alone, approximately 25-30 million real trees are sold annually, while an estimated 94 million households display artificial trees.
Modern innovations include:
- Pre-lit artificial trees (introduced 1990s) — now 80%+ of artificial tree sales
- Fiber optic trees — creating built-in light displays
- Smart lights — LED strings controlled by apps
- Sustainable options — potted living trees, recycled materials
- Alternative trees — minimalist wood designs, wall-mounted trees, book trees